Day One iOS 26 Updates Required for All iPhone 17 Models

[Sloeberry]

Had I known that it would have saved me a whole lot of time - I foolishly assumed that since the 17 Pro has 26 and so did my old phone... Now having to start over! Seriously annoyed.

 

[AppleCook]

MacRumors people: "It's indexing!"

Isn’t this kind of Apple’s fault for not giving us an option to force prioritize indexing?

Hide it deep in settings, even make it require toggling an option from a web browser; require full charge and a cable plugged in. Make it clear it’s for detail-obsessed people only and is totally unnecessary. Then, let us let the phone focus on indexing until it’s completely done, doing just about nothing else.

 

[tobybrut]

I picked up two phones at an Apple Store today. Both needed updating, so they obviously didn’t take advantage of the feature to update without opening the box.

 

[iDave]

Yes. During the transfer-process you will be required to update your 17 to continue. You cannot skip the update if you do a transfer from an old device.

The only option to use the 17 with the out-of-the-box software is to set it up as new.

I skipped it and transferred from my old iPhone. Updating now, next day.

 

[FeliApple]

After two days, my standby battery drain has reduced, but every time I actually use the phone, it warms up and the battery percentage counts down like a timer. Thanks Apple, thanks a lot. But hope this lasts only a few more days instead of being permanent.

MacRumors people: "It's indexing!"
View attachment 2551735

Me: "I know! Just let me vent about it."
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And this is not true for non-current devices, regardless.

It may improve vs the first minute, but due to the redesign, I have serious doubts that battery life is just as good on iOS 26 as it was on iOS 18 even for iPhone 16 models anyway. I wouldn’t know because I’m obviously not updating, as always.

Perhaps an interesting story, I’m not a frequent upgrader so it’s not like I’ve had a million different iOS devices, but when it comes to new devices on their original iOS versions I’ve encountered the “indexing” issue with battery life exactly once: when I purchased my 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 9 (sadly forced by Apple to iOS 12 since then), its day-one battery life was abhorrent. It kept dropping from 100% to 90% after 45 minutes of light use, when, with my usage pattern, I was expecting something closer to two hours.

Sure enough, a day later, it normalized and I got the two hours I wanted, just when I was considering getting it replaced. It never happened with any other iOS device I purchased, before or after.