I absolutely loathe iOS 26

[InAustralia]

It's definitely different and there are elements I dislike, but overall I am enjoying it. I find that whenever Apple makes big changes it takes some time to adjust but overall I enjoy re-discovering my device as it's like getting a new iPhone/iPad without the cost.

 

[trevoclark]

I don’t understand why some app icons now look so blurry it’s like I need glasses.

Okay I'm not going insane. ESPN and YouTube for me look out of focus

 

[InAustralia]

I don’t understand why some app icons now look so blurry it’s like I need glasses.

I assume it is because the app has not been updated yet for iOS26. Give it time and all the apps will likely get updated.

 

[I7guy]

So far I’m liking iOS 26, with about .5 hour under my belt.

 

[timeislove]

Just “up”graded my iPhone to iOS 26 and I absolutely hate it. It’s visually the ugliest iOS Apple has ever produced. The icons all have a distracting (and non-sensical) edge to them. The blurred wallpapers look nothing like they used to.

It’s so ugly I’m thinking of cancelling my iPhone Air order and looking at Samsung options.

I would not call it ugly. In some cases, the UI looks fancifully beautiful. However, in some case, the transparent look of UI simply not practical. Like in this morning after I upgraded to iOS 26, I picked up the phone and noted the notifications showing on the top merely seen owing to the transparent nature of the pop up.

All in all, I feel everything of thr UI look bigger, the icons, the keyboard are felt much spacious. The new UI of the phone app looks a bit complicated and need some time to adapt.

 

[timeislove]

I think it's likely you could load 18.7 onto it? I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I just put 26 on my 15PM and it's not that bad. I'll let the 16 update overnight.

Likely not possible to roll back to 18.7

 

[JerryIII]

You can make the iPhone look like iOS 18, when you make your icons jiggle, select customize and select default. This will make it look normal.

Wasn’t IOS 18 hated all year? Why would you want to emulate it. Move forward. It is good for you.

 

[timeislove]

I dislike it as well. And the experience on my 13 Pro is terrible - all the animations run slower than iOS 18, and there is a sluggish feeling in how things perform

I don’t like it either.

But the sluggishness seems the usual thing (reindexing?) after an upgrade.

This is the most disappointing upgrade I have ever had.

Hate cosmetic oriented upgrade. Useful new features are minimal, seeing the pop up of new features when opening a native app.

Just found the Visited Location feature in Map app is not available for my region. Interesting!

 

[DataChris]

Ughhh this is way worse in person than it looked online. The reverse explosion motion that happens to the app icons when you swipe in from the lock screen literally makes me physically nauseous. There are a few places where the Liquid Glass almost looks nice but it only makes everything harder to see. I do like the larger back / forward UI buttons but overall this feels like another Apple Fail at the highest level.

 

[JerryIII]

Ughhh this is way worse in person than it looked online. The reverse explosion motion that happens to the app icons when you swipe in from the lock screen literally makes me physically nauseous. There are a few places where the Liquid Glass almost looks nice but it only makes everything harder to see. I do like the larger back / forward UI buttons but overall this feels like another Apple Fail at the highest level.

A phone OS makes you nauseous. Really? Maybe you should go get checked out.

 

[timeislove]

What I don’t get is how they managed to get an approval to prioritise a new GUI. They do have other parts and a bit of a backlog of things that I would have considered more important to fix.

It’s not like the old GUI was bad and looked dated

Probably market drifted decision?

They think a new fancy UI could appeal to new customers (young ones) to buy?

Obviously changing the UI may not win the hearts of loyal Apple users. Regardless the UI is good or bad, some old users may not feel it handy and will not be happy at all.

 

[JerryIII]

Probably market drifted decision?

They think a new fancy UI could appeal to new customers (young ones) to buy?

Obviously changing the UI may not win the hearts of loyal Apple users. Regardless the UI is good or bad, some old users may not feel it handy and will not be happy at all.

Within a week you will be used to it and then will be right here next year complaining about the next one. My gosh people, it is a phone operating system. You are not dying. You will adapt. If this is the worst thing that happens to you all week, then you will have a good week.

 

[Rychiar]

Looks good to me, it’s not like you can’t basically turn it off

 

[anthony13]

I think it’s just fine. But Mac OS 26 is a huge step sideways for me.

 

[Rskittles]

I love iOS 26

 

[Boeingfan]

Windows 7 was the best Windows. I stuck with XP Pro rather than going to that abomination known as Vista. Then went to Windows 7. After the crime against humanity known as Windows 8 released I switched fully to MacOS for my personal machines. Unfortunately, I still have to deal with the misery of Microsoft for some work servers, but not at home.

Haha indeed windows got better and better until 7, then became a monster. Windows 10 went a long way towards redemption but windows 11 is moving more towards a dumb terminal feel with intrusive ads, widgets and mandatory net connection for some features. Still, I can’t do macOS for some reason. To me windows is like a person opening the door saying come on in, but macOS feel like someone behind the door just saying meh, you work it out 😄 and I just can’t get my head around it.

 

[Tdude96]

Are light and dark mode icons bugged in iOS 26, or am I doing something wrong? The only thing that seems to change is the bar at the bottom.

EDIT: Figured it out. It's not automatic with Dark Mode, and not selectable when you go into Appearance Settings. For anyone else who is looking for this: You have to go into wiggle mode on your Home Screen, tap "Edit" in the top left, choose "Customize" from the contextual menu, then "Auto" at the bottom of the screen.

 

[iObama]

This is the first redesign I've really not liked. I loved iOS 7 and I loved the iterations of that (especially iOS 10, iOS 13, iOS 16, etc.). I've recently acquired a Pixel 7 Pro for work and it's just so much more simple.

And Gemini... holy balls dude. A voice assistant that actually works?

 

[baconcat_8964]

if you think iOS 26 is distracting, wait till android. oh boy.

Oh no. I can't wait to see One UI 9 and Material Design 4 Fluid Crystal Expressive.

 

[Marty80]

Did you ever see Mac OS Aqua.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Honestly I don't mind most of Liquid Glass. Just the outlines look really cheap and stupid.

 

[Sami13496]

My gut tells me I shouldn’t upgrade to iOS 26. But I’m too curious. I have to see and experience it with my own eyes.

 

[Dust-by-Monday]

Did you ever see Mac OS Aqua.

View attachment 2549678

The Finder looks like he's not very happy hah

 

[maxoakland]

if you think iOS 26 is distracting, wait till android. oh boy.

When was the last time you used Android?

 

[maxoakland]

Did you ever see Mac OS Aqua.

View attachment 2549678

I like Aqua. It's consistent. One of the things I really can't stand about Liquid Glass is it's a mishmash of flat and glass styles. Most things remain flat, a few are glass. It's obnoxious