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I absolutely loathe iOS 26
- Thread starter profmjh
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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)
Upgraded my iPad Pro to iPadOS 26 to get the windowing features. Those are pretty impressive but the UI skin is ugly, busy and at times hard to read, even with Liquid Glass reduced as much as I can (e.g. setting my wallpaper to black).
Though I'd like to avail myself of some of the MacOS 26 and iOS 26 features, I'm sticking with MacOS 18 and iOS 18 for as long as I can.
Apple's forcing this on everyone and not giving us the option of turning the skin off is arrogance personified. I switched to the Appleverse from Windows/Android a few years ago; am seriously considering going back despite the cost and inconvenience.
Though I'd like to avail myself of some of the MacOS 26 and iOS 26 features, I'm sticking with MacOS 18 and iOS 18 for as long as I can.
Apple's forcing this on everyone and not giving us the option of turning the skin off is arrogance personified. I switched to the Appleverse from Windows/Android a few years ago; am seriously considering going back despite the cost and inconvenience.
I don’t know. My m1 iPad Pro is on iPadOS 26 with no issues. (Spouse uses it so she has to be happy)
Threatened to leave the Appleverse doesn’t creat any urgency for Apple, leaving does.
Leaving Apple does nothing. You can’t touch Apple’s decision-making process as an individual.
There is no individual solution. Apple might (MIGHT) only listen if adoption rates plummeted so much that the whole equation changes.
Since Apple does not allow downgrading, and those who refrain from updating are a massive minority, and those who downgrade during the first week are an even smaller minority, there is no solution even if Apple screws up badly.
The last major iOS update with this level of pushback was iOS 11. It significantly affected battery life and performance on every device, including the then-latest updatable iPhone, the iPhone 7.
Adoption rates were slightly slower, but the complaints were so many that Apple touted performance on iOS 12, whilst killing battery life regardless.
iOS 11 was installed on 65% of devices by January, which is still not low enough. (76% for iOS 10 by January).
It seems that the complaints got to them because it was the only time that performance was touted so heavily for older devices.
By iOS 13, the outrage had passed and Apple went back to obliterating devices. People went back to updating (55% in a month for the last four iPhones).
The only solution is an impossible utopia: We should make the adoption rates so low that Apple has no choice but to listen.
Automatic updates, the security ghost that apparently haunts everyone, and compatibility issues make this pretty much impossible.
iOS 26 is controversial. Design, battery life consumption by the new animations, performance issues on every device including M4 iPad Pros, etc.
But if we see that it has 85% adoption rate by January, then as a collective we have decided that this isn’t an issue. Which I am okay with, but it takes away every single legitimate complaint: You can’t complain if you are knowingly part of the problem.
Why would Apple do anything if you people keep updating? Why would Apple be worried about any issues with updates if they know you will update anything and everything to any iOS update they release? It makes no sense.
The solution is individual: you aren’t happy? Stop updating. Otherwise, frankly, you have no right to complain. This is on you, the user who is willing to install every iOS update. I’m okay with that. I’ve found my solution even if it is unpopular. But I have no sympathy for chronic updaters: you are willingly walking into this.
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Apple forced nothing on you. You updated willingly. You made a choice and you now have to live with it.
Unless it makes you 100x happier. That should be enough. Control what you can control. Don't expect people to sign your petition or join you in some mass exodus, but get the phone/tablet/computer that makes you happy and don't worry about the rest. Hakuna matata!
Yes, but I strongly advise you to wait for a series of patches before you even think about it. You might regret the update, you have been warned : )
Yes, absolutely, that’s why I’m happy with my approach. And that’s why I don’t understand those who keep updating and complaining about iOS updates killing devices.
I criticise Apple’s approach because I consider it wrong, and I criticise Apple when it forced me to update (twice), but as I always say, the responsibility is individual:
How many years do you need to learn what major updates do? How many years do you need to learn that redesigns are resource-heavy? If you haven’t grasped this by now, then you should have, and complaining by saying “I willingly updated to iOS 26 and now my battery life has tanked and/or I have performance issues” is pointless: you knew - or should’ve known - that this would happen.
How can you update a seven-year-old device and complain? On the iPad subforum, there’s a thread called “iOS 26 killed my 2018 iPad Pro”. Well, what did you expect? The user said “I expected this but maybe Apple shouldn’t have listed it as compatible”. Why not? Apple can do whatever they want. If iOS 7 on the iPhone 4 didn’t stop them, nothing will. It’s not a factor for Apple, and if you’re a long-term user, you should know that.
The feature list and feature changes, the multitasking changes. The information is out there. You can know exactly what you’ll get before you get it. You know this is irreversible. What do you mean you’re complaining after release and after the downgrade window is closed because its battery life and performance aren’t up to standard? You knew this was a risk.
@FeliApple
The pass I will give people here is that for many of them these are primary devices (iPhone usually) and I myself have had trouble in the past, eventually, not being on the latest (or a "newer") iOS version in terms of key App compatibility.
Banking apps have been a bugaboo in the regard in the past, as one example.
Sometimes some really weird ones pop up as problems (can be very niche, but critical to the user in question).
The pass I will give people here is that for many of them these are primary devices (iPhone usually) and I myself have had trouble in the past, eventually, not being on the latest (or a "newer") iOS version in terms of key App compatibility.
Banking apps have been a bugaboo in the regard in the past, as one example.
Sometimes some really weird ones pop up as problems (can be very niche, but critical to the user in question).
I think every iOS update gets the same level of criticism although iOS 7 really got people out of the woodwork. That last how long? And so you know where Apple is going.
You have about a week to downgrade and only a slightly longer window to return your phone.
There’s always a line in the sand. One person’s driving like a “granny” is another persons driving like a “banshee”. That’s about how noise is measured on Macrumors.
I’m a serial upgrader and I own it.
I have more experience with compatibility issues than most, given that barring inevitable circumstances I stay on the original iOS version. In practice, this means that I have a couple of apps with required compatibility on my iPhone and zero on my iPad: I will stay behind on my iPad no matter what breaks. I’ll upgrade before updating.
I used an iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 as my main iPhone for 5.5 years. By the end, a LOT had stopped working but my key functions still worked, so I circumvented those issues by grabbing other devices. I knew I was upgrading soon anyway so I tolerated that for a few months.
It is highly unlikely (perhaps even practically impossible) that a 2018 iPad Pro on iPadOS 18 functionally requires an update to iPadOS 26 now. It is highly unlikely that an iPhone on iOS 18 has compatibility issues today.
If you really stay behind, like me, then the issues will arise. But an iPhone 15 won’t struggle on iOS 17 today.
I recall when I bought my iPad Air 5, which still runs iPadOS 15.6. Apple released Freeform a month after I bought it, but it required iPadOS 16. Sure, it was a “compatibility issue”, and I had purchased my iPad a month earlier alongside my first and only Apple Pencil: the 2nd-gen I still have and happily use with my Air 5. But I don’t need Freeform. Sure, I would’ve liked it, but I don’t need the app.
was this a crucial compatibility issue? No, Freeform offered a practicality, but the same functionality (or similar) could be achieved with other apps. Some people might say “but I want to run Freeform so it is crucial for me”.
I’ve seen that a LOT. True compatibility issues take a while to surface (four to five major versions in my experience).
Now, if the user can’t tolerate ANY incompatibility, including new apps released, then every device is immediately incompatible.
It is a matter of choice then, just like features: do you really need this new app? Or will you download it, use it three times, and never again?
I’ll grant the banking apps though, some are really annoying. And yes, that one is tough to resolve. But typically you still have some years, right? Or is it THAT immediate with some?
Not really, no. iOS 26 has seen far more criticism both due to design and because it is worse on new devices, unlike iOS 12 through 18.
Some people, like you, have unlimited tolerance, and that’s okay. The line in the sand is personal.
Some people like me also classify bugs as bugs. Some people are also hypersensitive and may notice things a thousands may miss. There is a wide range.
Safari on iPad OS doesn’t know if it wants to be light or dark so sometimes it gives me both. I’ve had Safari issues with every beta since the public betas came out.
All it takes is one in this category and it can be basically game over and a deal breaker for folks.
It has been for me in the past.
Generally though, you can stay behind for a full calendar year (iOS release), and then the screws can start to tighten.
This is so incredibly annoying. It looks so bad and it happens on so many sites. lol.
Some apps require the absolute latest or latest-1 to work? That’s absurd. If anything, compatibility is dropped too quickly nowadays. I think 10 years would be a good goal to have. Most (if not all) would’ve upgraded anyway by then.
This is especially true with controversial redesigns like iOS 26. People should be able to stay behind for a bunch of years without things breaking.
Buy two identical older iPhones that are 2 years old and use one on the old OS and use the other as a guinea pig to test the most current OS. Thats what I do.