For those who used iOS 18 RC, how do you feel iOS 26 RC? Better? Worse?

[Populus]

I’m pretty sure many of you, a year ago, were using the Release Candidate of iOS 18. And maybe some of you do remember how it was…

If you can remember it, and you’re using iOS 26 RC, tell us, do you feel it more polished? More buggy?

I’m asking because I installed iOS 18.1, as I liked some features that made me update earlier than usual, and it wasn’t that bad… and I’m considering updating early this year as well. Not sure if I’ll wait for the 26.1 again, or I’ll leave it until 26.3… that’s why I’d like to read your experience with iOS 26 RC, especially compared to last year’s iOS 18 RC.

I’m especially interested in those with an A15 device: iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 14… And, of course, the SE 3rd gen, my beloved iPhone SE 3.

Thank you.

 

[Blue Hawk]

I can’t compare with older iOS versions because they always feel different. All I can say is on my iPhone 16 Pro Max and latest iPad Air it runs very well. I am only waiting for the first app updates next week because third party apps still have the old design and keyboard.

 

[BigBlur]

Everyone's experience and perceptions will be different. I have it installed on my iPhone 13 and 16, and think it's fine. Others will say it's buggy. They notice things that I don't notice or that don’t bother me.

You could always update to 26 RC now to try it out for yourself. Then you'll have a longer opportunity to downgrade back to 18 if you don't like it.

 

[HouseLannister]

iOS 18 RC still had a lot of the visual glitches just like iOS 26. It is not uncommon for Apple's General Release OS to feel rushed and unpolished. It's the crunch culture they have built around testing a new OS in only two months with no time to respond to feedback or pivot if the public doesn't like something. iOS 18 RC and GR had many issues with getting icons to stay where you put them and switching icons from light to dark mode or just becoming blank icons. Last year was weird though, because none of those issues were really addressed in 18.1. It got better by 18.3 and 18.4 once they finished the Apple Intelligence stuff and went back to tightening things up. It just took far longer than normal. Hopefully with More Personal Siri targeting Spring 2026 (and probably 26.4) they can start working on cleaning that stuff up for 26.1 this October.

 

[ghostface147]

I do not remember one year ago when it comes to RCs.

 

[MDTyKe]

iOS26 RC has definitely gotten faster over time, but it's still a sloppy mess. For a multi-trillion $ company it's an insult. IMO the apparently two developers and design team who are working on iOS need to be publicly named and barred from ever working on any UI again, for the benefit of humanity.

I'm generally flexible, but iOS26 is that bad that when this launches, it would be in Apple's interest to continue to sign iOS 18, or there will be lawsuits for slowing devices down and effectively making them useless. It's an absolute visual mess. There's zero excuse for something with this many bugs at launch.

 

[crobcary]

My experience is that this year's RC is more stable than 18's RC. I had a lot of icon/Home Screen issues on the 18 RC (especially iPad) that didn't get resolved until way later in the year. This year, I may see an occasional visual flicker or glitch but nothing major—and the battery life in this RC has been far better. I don't do OTA updates, however, so some people may see more stuff carry over from beta builds or whatever and see more problems.

 

[papbot]

As far as functionality, I’d say 26 at this stage is certainly as good as, or better, than 18 was on my iPad Pro. Where 26 is worse for me is the redrawing of icons and folders on Home Screens, and after a restart. After restarting that looks especially bad as the icons can take 30 seconds or more to reappear and folders to fill in. I never saw any of that in any other recent iOS. And, of course, swiping between Home screens causes this to repeat although everything reappears very quickly. I’ve not found any actual function or app that doesn’t work properly, so in that respect, 26 has been one of the smoothest releases to adopt. But visually, referring to the redraws, not so good, and that’s on a big iPad; I can imagine it's worse on a phone. Everything else looks really good. If the 17s arrive with the same issue I'd expect a ton of complaints.

 

[Brenster]

Been using the RC on my 16 Pro since Tuesday evening, having updated from 18.x (I didn’t install any prior public betas). Mostly happy with It so far. The UI changes are on the whole pretty good and I’ve soon accustomed to them. Still waiting to see what the ML powered adaptive power might do for my battery life.

Only real concern is in Messages is the tab below the contact photo containing name & location is a bit intrusive into the body of the messages themselves. Hopefully this might be moved to a pop out button at the side. Other than that, I’m enjoying the RC in terms of UI and performance.

 

[CalMin]

24 hours in and I'm noticing some battery drain on my 15 Pro Max. Then again - that's usually the case for a few days after an OS upgrade while the phone indexes etc. I have a 1TB phone, so there's a lot for the OS to index!!

Overall - it's smooth so far. My apps work and I haven't noticed any adverse effects just yet.

 

[TL24]

iOS 26 RC is stable, I've had no major bug outside of small annoying UI visual glitches.

I was NOT a fan of Liquid Glass but it's grown on me, time will tell how Apple polishes the finer details of this iOS version.

 

[Paddle1]

It feels usable but buggy. Probably about the same if I had to guess. The difference this time is the brand new design, quite a few visual glitches which are easier to notice.