iOS 18 is the worst software Apple has ever released. I wish so bad I had stayed on 17.7

[LionTeeth]

I really don’t know where Apple goes from here or how they fix this without rolling back several changes. Ios18 is glitchy, crashes, it’s very flakey. I have a 15 pro, and I immensely regret putting 18 on it. I should have stayed on 17.7.

The photos app is the worst of it. Everything used to have a common thread of design language. It was so easy to operate. Now you have search bars and other things in random buttons around the screen. No rhyme or reason. It’s not fluid. And that’s if the screen registers your touch as now half the time it doesn’t. Scroll up to get back to your main photos area. Scroll up again because it didn’t register your touch.

The new control center is just overly complicated, what a mess. Oh we can have multiple “pages” of control center? Who asked for this? It’s just getting into bloat territory. Android and its redundant instances of launchers and shortcuts that all do the same thing. To have two pages of control center first you swipe down from the top right of the screen. Swipe up to get to the second page. To get back to Home Screen can you swipe up from the bottom? Nope! First you have to swipe down, get back to control center page 1, then swipe up to go home. Up down up down. What a mess. I messed around with having stuff on page two and it’s infuriating to operate.

I used to sing Apple’s praises to anyone who would listen. It’s all seamless, all connected, etc. This OS is horrible.

It feels like they had multiple teams working on different areas and none of them knew what the other was doing.

I pick up my old jet black 7 and wistfully use ios15, it’s just so clean and easy and all of it makes sense. Then I go back to my state of the art 15 pro, as it burns my thumb tips when I play games on it and the operating system is a complicated mess.

They need to do an ios12 year next year and purely, PURELY, focus on cohesion, and design.

 

[flybass]

I agree on these UI updates.

The only feature I like in the 18 release is the ability to get notifications and control your phone from a Mac.

 

[winxmac]

You can still downgrade to iOS 17.7 provided you have a backup before upgrading to iOS 18.x but in a few days or probably hours Apple will stop signing iOS 17.7

iOS 17 is the last major version that retains the classic Photos look... iOS 15 on iPhone 7 you cannot select multiple items and mark as favorite, I think that was introduced in iOS 16...

Multiple page Control Center was first introduced in iOS 10 but that design got replaced with what they used in iOS 11 to iOS 17... Now they went back to multiple page Control Center in iOS 18... Ever since iOS 11, you can only turn off bluetooth, wi-fi, cellular/mobile data by going to Settings and not through Control Center...

I have used iOS 18 during early beta up until iOS 18.0 release but I decided to go back to iOS 17.7 while it was still available for downgrade... I still wish we are allowed to go to an older version even if many years have already passed...

 

[Tech_Fan]

Yep, the Photo app and wallpaper changer are downright awful and goes against the core Apple principle of being simple to use, in my opinion. I’d argue that even the Settings app has become convoluted.

 

[Adora]

I downgraded my SE3 to 17.7 and don't use it at the moment. The SE2 is running fine with always the latest beta of 18.1.

I can't even remember the photos app of iOS 17. I used an SE1 before what only supported iOS 15.

There is one thing what is really annoying me. The Apple standard apps are now hidden in the long list of all apps, only the AppStore is still there.

I don't know why I don't just use the search function. I somehow never did that for the settings of those apps.

It is really strange that Phone, Messages, FaceTime, Safari, Mail, Music etc. are not listed in the main Settings anymore.

I like the Passwords app, but have already a better alternative paid in advance for 2 years.

What happened to the dark mode icons by the way? They are just gone since many beta updates. And that's good, because I sometimes did not find an app that was directly in front of me.

 

[LionTeeth]

Thanks all, glad it’s not just me. It’s such a bloated unstable mess with no cohesive design language.

You can still downgrade to iOS 17.7 provided you have a backup before upgrading to iOS 18.x

I do not unfortunately, I just do iCloud backup and go from there. I’m really kicking myself.

 

[winxmac]

wallpaper changer

Right, since iOS 16 changing to a different wallpaper requires you to go to the lock screen instead of just selecting a wallpaper within Settings and choosing whether to set it for the lock screen and home screen or a different for each one...

I just do iCloud backup

I think, not entirely sure, maybe you can downgrade and use the iCloud backup...

Now, I never perform an iTunes/Finder backup or iCloud backup... I do transfer photos and videos from my iPhone to OneDrive or local storage before I Erase All Content and Settings...

It's still up to you whether to downgrade or not... Or you can just put up with what Apple has in store for iOS 18.x

Everyone will be forced to upgrade to a newer iOS version or a new iPhone model anyway...

 

[jazzzyJeff]

All these posts about that year’s iOS is the worst, does anyone not remember iOS 7 and iOS 13? Or was it iOS 11?

 

[LionTeeth]

All these posts about that year’s iOS is the worst, does anyone not remember iOS 7 and iOS 13? Or was it iOS 11?

11 was rotten, and like I said above they took ios12 and focused purely on user experience. They need to do that again by for 19. This kind of sloppy design language will sink a company. Not kidding. No business is infinite. Even Apple.

 

[Hedkandi]

All these posts about that year’s iOS is the worst, does anyone not remember iOS 7 and iOS 13? Or was it iOS 11?

7, 11 and 13 were all horrible. 8 should of been the real version of 7.
I have found iOS 18, to be an odd experience. I still think it's unfinished, and AI will be in beta, like how Siri originally was for years.
Apple aren't really innovating these days, has those mid 90's feels, heaps of products, that lack quality.
They are using their users as free beta testers.

 

[twdawson]

I agree with the OP about this update so tonight when I get in from work my phone is going to be rolled back to 17.7 as it is still signed and I have the ipsw downloaded to the laptop.
The only thing I will face is my watch won’t work. Oh well never mind I will just chuck it in the drawer and move on.

 

[one more]

I do not unfortunately, I just do iCloud backup and go from there. I’m really kicking myself.

Well, if you have a current iCloud backup storing most of your data (like messages, photos, etc.) you could still downgrade to 17.7 and would just need to tweak your wallpaper, settings, etc. to your liking. Depending on the complexity of your particular setup, this might take you anything from 30 minutes to several hours, yet it is definitely doable.

 

[Alameda]

I have to agree that Photos has taken a gigantic leap backwards.

 

[HouseLannister]

Two very different complaints from the original poster to address here.

Design change complaints are perfectly valid. Apple was moving too fast with AI and started 18.1 betas before listening to feedback from 18.0 betas and making changes. The development cycle of iOS 18 felt very different from the days of iOS 15 when there was pushback against the Safari tab bar changes (especially on iPadOS) and Apple slowed down, made some adjustments, and gave users more options. That year it really felt like Apple listened and pivoted. This year they had a vision and went full steam ahead. They didn't listen. Some of this might get rolled back or improved upon, but I'm not holding out hope on anything changing until iOS 20. It's all about AI now and they don't have time to listen, unfortunately.

The glitchy/flakey/crashing complaints can all be addressed in the next couple point releases. Outside of some wireless CarPlay issues, I have had zero issues with the iOS 18.1 betas. It's stable, responsive, and delivers good battery life.

If you can't get the Apple Intelligence features on your device, I would suggest waiting for 18.2 this December.

 

[ghostface147]

While I don’t care for the new photos app, I just don’t have any issues with iOS 18.1 beta. No crashes, no freezing, nothing odd. Maybe the only thing is that once a day, mail freezes when I click on a notification, but it unfreezes after a few seconds. Been doing that since 17.

 

[achappy]

The new control center is just overly complicated, what a mess. Oh we can have multiple “pages” of control center? Who asked for this? It’s just getting into bloat territory. Android and its redundant instances of launchers and shortcuts that all do the same thing. To have two pages of control center first you swipe down from the top right of the screen. Swipe up to get to the second page. To get back to Home Screen can you swipe up from the bottom? Nope! First you have to swipe down, get back to control center page 1, then swipe up to go home. Up down up down. What a mess. I messed around with having stuff on page two and it’s infuriating to operate.

Maybe you should spend time and learn how to use it. I can easily swipe to home no matter what Control Center Page I'm on. No need to go back to page one.

And I also like the photos changes, but I took the time to learn the updates and rearranged the layout to what I wanted.

 

[flybass]

Maybe you should spend time and learn how to use it. I can easily swipe to home no matter what Control Center Page I'm on. No need to go back to page one.

And I also like the photos changes, but I took the time to learn the updates and rearranged the layout to what I wanted.

On control center, suppose you want to change the album you’re listening to in Apple Music. It takes so many swipes to get there, that it doesn’t seem faster than alternatives that already existed in the OS. Now we have these busy extra options in the pulldown. It just doesn’t seem very Apple.

Two very different complaints from the original poster to address here.

Design change complaints are perfectly valid. Apple was moving too fast with AI and started 18.1 betas before listening to feedback from 18.0 betas and making changes. The development cycle of iOS 18 felt very different from the days of iOS 15 when there was pushback against the Safari tab bar changes (especially on iPadOS) and Apple slowed down, made some adjustments, and gave users more options. That year it really felt like Apple listened and pivoted. This year they had a vision and went full steam ahead. They didn't listen. Some of this might get rolled back or improved upon, but I'm not holding out hope on anything changing until iOS 20. It's all about AI now and they don't have time to listen, unfortunately.

The glitchy/flakey/crashing complaints can all be addressed in the next couple point releases. Outside of some wireless CarPlay issues, I have had zero issues with the iOS 18.1 betas. It's stable, responsive, and delivers good battery life.

If you can't get the Apple Intelligence features on your device, I would suggest waiting for 18.2 this December.

I’m very skeptical that Apple will actually be fixing bugs vs introducing new ones as part of feature releases.

 

[Paddle1]

I don't understand your complaints with Control Center, it can work the same as iOS 17 if you want it to. You don't need to go to the first page to close it. For me it's definitely faster, I have everything on page 1 except HomeKit devices I keep on page 2 which are quicker to access no longer needing a long press. Same with giving Bluetooth a dedicated button so no double long press is needed to switch devices. Ease of use and speed have increased for me with this update.

The Photos app on the other hand is a different story.

 

[Paddle1]

On control center, suppose you want to change the album you’re listening to in Apple Music. It takes so many swipes to get there, that it doesn’t seem faster than alternatives that already existed in the OS. Now we have these busy extra options in the pulldown. It just doesn’t seem very Apple.

You can just tap on the icon on the right of CC to change the page, no swiping needed. I do agree the media page is probably not useful to most since you can just use the notification center/lock screen or small CC media widget.

 

[Tech_Fan]

iOS 18, in and of itself is fine. It’s running well on my iPhone 16 Pro Max. With that being said, iOS has become too convoluted. Over the years, users have requested more customizations and they’ve received it, but Apple’s implementation of them is not Apple-like.

It’s as if no one in QA took the time to actually determine whether or not the changes were in line with Apple’s core philosophy. No one should get stressed out trying to change the wallpaper. Why is there is ‘Today’ section when I open the App Store app, but I have to click on my image → Apps → My Apps just to see a list of the app I’ve installed or have previously installed?

It’s things like that that needs to be revisited by Apple in my opinion.

 

[thatJohann]

It's a hot mess, yes.

 

[AhRiHmAn]

Apple Music is so bad and buggy I went back to Spotify , and I’ve used Music since Day One .
Spotify just works.

 

[panjandrum]

Why do we all remain surprised by this? Working in the Apple-centric EDU and support world I've seen first-hand, over the past 15 or so years, exactly how far every single aspect of the Apple ecosystem has devolved, both iOS and MacOS. Yes I still find myself retaining this tiny glimmer of hope that somehow Apple will finally turn this around again. The problem is pervasive and significantly worse than most individual users comprehend. What was once an unassailable position in terms of consistency, clear presentation, usability, and reliability has turned into a hands-down disaster. These devices feel almost *exactly* like was it was like to work with Windows devices way, way back when Windows legitimately blew-chunks, hard. It is a continuous struggle, from needing to disable a tremendous number of "features" that get in the way of usability (and thus productivity), to features that are simply so unreliable that staff and students all give up on using them (a feature that works only 95% of the time, and the other 5% of the time fails in any number of creative and unusual ways is functionally unusable in an EDU environment; It means every time you ask a group of students to use that feature you will have to trouble-shoot it for at least one or two students. Teachers have neither the knowledge nor the time to do that, and therefore those Apple features can't be implemented. Teachers move to things like Google Classroom instead, because it works all the time, whereas Apple's solutions simply don't - they are massively, unforgivably, unreliable.) It's all just such a massive, horrible, fustercluck.

 

[Alameda]

Apple Music is so bad and buggy I went back to Spotify , and I’ve used Music since Day One .
Spotify just works.

This is what I think: Apple and Microsoft both employ many thousands of people, and their job justification is to get features into the OS or into the mainstream productivity apps.

IOW, if my team cannot redesign, say, Apple Photos, then the Company can‘t justify my job. It doesn’t matter whether Photos needs to be redesigned or not; my job is to make sure that I lobby for my team to get changes implemented into Photos… or into Music, or whatever it is that my Team is in charge of. Because, for some reason, Apple’s executives believe that the only way to get consumers to buy the latest product is to make everything new.

And I think it’s far worse with Microsoft. Those guys are REALLY bad at it… I’ve used MS Office for about thirty years, and it hasn’t changed very much, functionally. Word still lets me write documents, spell check them, apply styles, track changes. Nothing really new, as far as I can see. But in Every Single Release, they think it will be better if they shuffle all the menus around and give the same thirty year-old features new names, and re-organize where they’re found. It’s especially bad if you want to save your documents locally, because they are so utterly obsessed with their cloud feature that they’re literally opening a damaged nuclear reactor in order to power it.

I don’t think Apple is as bad as many say here; I like using Apple’s products. I had to use Windows 11 on a work laptop and I hated it. But Apple Senior Managment needs to stop changing their product for the sake of change and just use common sense.

 

[macguru212]

I wouldn't say the worst, but iOS 18 has not been all roses for me... hopefully 18.1 will fix many issues that I shall not digress into now, only that I hate it for the many bugs it has, but love many of the features.