I absolutely loathe iOS 26

[SRQrws]

I'm just sick of the lag, glitching and poor battery life...

I'm with you on the lag issues. I've had the 17 Pro since release day and several apps I've had for years -- three of my banking apps and my cellular provider app to name a few -- now take anywhere from 5-15 seconds to load. Changing pages within the app is also slow. They used to load instantly. I tried deleting one of them and reloading and it helped for a few uses, but went back to loading slowly. A couple of other apps don't fully open and have to be re-opened. Not good!

 

[Ursadorable]

After using both 18 and 26 side by side since release (company and personal phones), I still hate everything about 26. I was hoping it would grow on me, but the UI element placement relocation in simple apps such as Safari and Mail makes it feel like zero thought was give how it affects day to day usage.

I thought Android was horrid in UI design and still do, but iOS 26 actually feels worse in several ways.

Thankfully I only updated my company phone, so I can leave my personal on 18. Hopefully iOS 27 ends up being less awful.

 

[Cape Dave]

After using both 18 and 26 side by side since release (company and personal phones), I still hate everything about 26. I was hoping it would grow on me, but the UI element placement relocation in simple apps such as Safari and Mail makes it feel like zero thought was give how it affects day to day usage.

I thought Android was horrid in UI design and still do, but iOS 26 actually feels worse in several ways.

Thankfully I only updated my company phone, so I can leave my personal on 18. Hopefully iOS 27 ends up being less awful.

Zero thought sounds right to me. Or, Let's break every common sense rule about UI/UX that we have leaned over the past 25 years. Yeah, that's the ticket!

 

[Steve121178]

iOS 26 is so bad it’s made me hate using my iPhone. It’s dreadful.

 

[southerndoc]

Some days I don't mind it, some days I hate it. Never really truly liked it. Messages with the contacts overlay at top reminds me of a cartoon setup for a child.

Apparently companies have not learned from the Sonos app fiasco.

If I wasn't so embedded in the Apple ecosystem, I would change. With both macOS and iOS having this "new, improved" look, I may end up switching to Windows 11. The latest change with macOS Messages cutting off the names of contacts in the conversation list (and preferring to show icon only) is making me hate using my Mac now.

Unfortunately, this is a forced design and no complaining whatsoever will make this go away.

 

[Cape Dave]

Some days I don't mind it, some days I hate it. Never really truly liked it. Messages with the contacts overlay at top reminds me of a cartoon setup for a child.

Apparently companies have not learned from the Sonos app fiasco.

If I wasn't so embedded in the Apple ecosystem, I would change. With both macOS and iOS having this "new, improved" look, I may end up switching to Windows 11. The latest change with macOS Messages cutting off the names of contacts in the conversation list (and preferring to show icon only) is making me hate using my Mac now.

Unfortunately, this is a forced design and no complaining whatsoever will make this go away.

I completely agree 100% It is so bad, it could induce a move. But this is the ecosystem doing its job to keep one inside itself. It 's the dark side of the ecosystem. I have not upgraded and will not until there is no other option.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have not upgraded and will not until there is no other option.

Same. I'm so happy I've kept all my devices off all 26 software.

 

[Cape Dave]

Same. I'm so happy I've kept all my devices off all 26 software.

Yup, same here 26 is a complete 100% waste of everyone's time and is 100% unnecessary. Stupid Apple. Linux calls me.

 

[now i see it]

At least we can relish the thought that most of the 164,000 apple employees likely think iOS 26 sucks too

 

[Cape Dave]

Yup, same here 26 is a complete 100% waste of everyone's time and is 100% unnecessary. Stupid Apple. Linux calls me.

Matter of fact, I will be setting up my spare Phantom Canyon computer with Linux Mint.

 

[BigMcGuire]

iOS 26 has interesting characteristics. Sometimes it'll burn a lot of power at night - sometimes the phone will be hot to the touch when plugged in and fully charged (with no reason as to why because battery usage only shows battery usage now).

I keep my phone on batteries in the evening and I used to be able to have my 10,000 mAh keep my iPhone 15 Pro Max going for several days no problem. But now, sometimes, iOS 26 will drain that battery dry in less than 24 hours (with no change in usage).

Definitely doing a lot more background plugged in operations than it used to.

 

[FeliApple]

Same. I'm so happy I've kept all my devices off all 26 software.

You know, I have three iPads. A 9.7-inch iPad Pro on iOS 12, with mediocre battery life for my taste (10 hours of light SOT, down from 14 after being forced by Apple out of iOS 9 into iOS 12 due to the activation bug), barely useful due to compatibility, and an Air 5 on iPadOS 15.

Back in March, always unwilling to update, I purchased an 11th-gen iPad with the expressed intention of updating it, kind of like a sacrificial lamb. I was scared of compatibility for my Air 5, as it is now 4 versions behind. I thought, I can’t keep buying devices just because devs and Apple kill compatibility too quickly. The Air is still fine today, but I wasn’t sure back then how much it’d be affected.

As you know, I never update, and haven’t willingly updated an iOS device in well over a decade. As soon as I saw the iOS 26 fiasco, I immediately went back to my ways and I won’t update anything now.

I’ll deal with compatibility as I always have when the time comes. I don’t have the latest device too often. I can’t go killing it when it is literally the latest base iPad.

I perhaps was willing to give updating a chance on this iPad. I’m not saying I was 100% sure of updating back when I bought it, but I was willing to explore the possibility.

iOS (or iPadOS in this case) 26 kills battery life, is a resource hog, deletes iPad-specific features in favour of the iPad-hating, ridiculous, appalling minority that should buy a Mac or two or three, and introduces what is in my view an utterly ugly, horrendous design.

They didn’t do well in terms of persuasion. And it is the first major update. Even I typically trusted those as fairly safe even if I didn’t update them myself.

 

[2macORnot2mac]

I started with the first iPhone. This is the buggiest software I’ve experienced. So jittery.

 

[randomgeeza]

iOS 26 is so bad it’s made me hate using my iPhone. It’s dreadful.

I have to agree with this statement. I resent having to spend anymore time than necessary on these (my) devices, MacBook, iPhone and iPad.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have to agree with this statement. I resent having to spend anymore time than necessary on these (my) devices, MacBook, iPhone and iPad.

Maybe it's all a ploy to help folks reduce their screen time and work on improving mental health?

"Make OS's that people hate to use", but they know folks are mostly eco-system locked in and going nowhere anyways.

 

[southerndoc]

They really screwed up the Messages conversation list in macOS 26.1 dev beta 3. I literally hate using Messages on my Mac now.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

Right now I really regret updating anything. not being design orientated I thought that I can survive some ugly design for functionality sake (phone app on iPad and MBP).
But this OS 26 (I mean on every device, be it phone, tablet or Mac) is a very bad update.
Battery life is significantly worse, bugs and glitches are everywhere. For example I have to restart my M2 iPad Pro after 2-3 hours on external monitor because it becomes unresponsive, even after I disconnect it and use it standalone. This kind issues are new to me (except the Windows era).

 

[chabig]

They really screwed up the Messages conversation list in macOS 26.1 dev beta 3. I literally hate using Messages on my Mac now.

How is it different than Sequoia? I’m running beta 3 and don’t notice anything unusual.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Whoever thought that dynamically changing ui colors in real time needs to be put to trial. Scrolling most websites in Safari or News is now infuriating due to how the top blur and status icons are always changing color nonstop.

 

[southerndoc]

How is it different than Sequoia? I’m running beta 3 and don’t notice anything unusual.

The conversation list will show icons only or not expand enough to show the full name of the individual. The column width is limited now. When you close the window and reopen, it defaults to the icons again.

 

[I7guy]

Maybe it's all a ploy to help folks reduce their screen time and work on improving mental health?

"Make OS's that people hate to use", but they know folks are mostly eco-system locked in and going nowhere anyways.

I’m ecosystem locked because android does not have the features I want. “Ecosystem locked” is a meme at this point.

Whoever thought that dynamically changing ui colors in real time needs to be put to trial. Scrolling most websites in Safari or News is now infuriating due to how the top blur and status icons are always changing color nonstop.

I happen to like the dynamically changing UI colors. Actually I don’t care either way.

 

[tomtattoo]

Whoever thought that dynamically changing ui colors in real time needs to be put to trial. Scrolling most websites in Safari or News is now infuriating due to how the top blur and status icons are always changing color nonstop.

You are soo right. There is ALWAYS something moving, flickering, disturbing and distracting in the field of view. It is horrible!

 

[now i see it]

There are likely fears - very valid fears - in the upper apl echelon, that a.i. will eventually take over all personal computing in a world where screens (and iOS & Mac OS) are irrelevant.
So this wild & crazy looking iOS 26 interface may be a direct result of that gnawing dread - make the OS look as stimulating as possible.

 

[johnmacward]

I suppose that Apple at its worst (meaning today) is still doing a far better job than Microsoft could ever hope to.

Even now in Windows 11, many of the built-in OS functions still haven't migrated to the "new" metro/modern/UWP UI introduced way back in 2012. Off the top of my head, the UI for formatting a disk dates back to Windows 95.

All you have to do is breathe to do better than Microsoft, the company who can refine nothing.

 

[johnmacward]

I absolutely love it, and loathe people that can't see what a good design is.

I find its "effect" really well done (I love watching the refracting elements change its colour through the spectrum of colours as it reaches the edge of a "piece of glass") however I have absolutely NO IDEA what value this brings to battery and performance limited devices such as iPhones, iPads and Watch who will undoubtedly have battery loss due to the calculations required to do the effects. It's a good trick, a novelty and a decent gimmick but that's it. I have not understood the decisions to make big parts of the OS less readable and clear in many instances (which is nuts and highly noticeable with the address bar in Safari)