iOS 26 Review: Testing Apple's Biggest iPhone Update

[wikiverse]

Man, still can't get over how ugly liquid glass can be. The promo videos looked great but actually using it looks and feels rough. Not even mentioning the beta bugs - it just feels like the whole design language and paradigm needed more time in the oven.

It's not a time problem, it's a design problem. The core idea is not functional.

It's a great look in sci-fi films where the actors are pretending to use glass screens, but when you put it into a smart phone UI, you very quickly realise that there is a reason we don't have see-through televisions and why we use whiteboards instead of writing on windows and mirrors with white markers.

 

[DavidBlue]

> Spatial Scenes - Spatial Scenes adds a little bit of depth to a 2D photo, giving it a more 3D look and feel.

So as far as I can tell/unless I'm mistaken... There is no way to export or save an image as a "spatial scene"??? So it is literally just something you can turn on and then off again per photo within a single view in the Photos app (or make your wallpaper,) and that's it??? What the actual heck?

 

[vantelimus]

"the reintroduction of more of the Liquid Glass effect has upset people who heavily favor legibility over design."

Why would anyone want reduced legibility? Design is function, or so Apple seems to have forgotten. Design that reduces function? They are trying to kill Jony and make him roll over in his grave in unison with Steve.

Beyond the glass effect, which is a big yawn when it doesn't interfere with legibility, some of the other visual changes they've introduced are annoying and have no functional reason. Excessively rounded windows look odd on a Mac, but that's something one will become accustomed to with use, though I haven't yet. Making the left side bars on windows look like they are separate dialog windows floating above the main window creates both visual and function inconsistency in the UX. In particular, since the introduction of MacOS 10, the window control buttons have always been on the window they control. And they still are, except when you open the a left side bar. Then they appear to be on a separate dialog window. They still apply to the entire window, they just look like they shouldn't because of their position.

Apple needs to remember that design is function instead of adopting the standard industry idea that design is something added after the fact.

 

[Dizzy714]

Question that’s probably been answered a million times. If you update to the beta, is doing a complete restore the only way to roll back to iOS 18? Secondly, if you decide to stay on the beta until official release, can you update to the official iOS 26 without restoring?

 

[H2SO4]

With no translators present? I doubt it.

This feature at best is potentially useful for holiday goers trying to fumble through a food order or getting directions and the like.

You really think that on site there will be a translator present at all times and places?
No.

 

[Stotka]

Other than call screening and perhaps live translation (though I don’t know anyone who chats with someone who doesn’t understand their language), basically EVERYTHING else is useless fluff at best.

Try living in a foreign country and ordering door delivery. Live translation is really cool if the other end listens to the instructions before hanging up.

 

[tim_apple]

New video, clicks, revenue..... wait for macrumors to start with one week with iOS 26, two weeks with iOS 26, three weeks with iOS 26, a month with iOS 26, 6 weeks with iOS 26, 2 months iOS 26 review, iOS 26 in depth review, what's new in iOS 26, what we missed about iOS 26 in the last article, and after 6 months you get another review and then they start talking about iOS 27 rumors..... internet is completely full of garbage content, most likely also AI generated by now, to make a dollar...

So MacRumors just shouldn’t produce any content?

 

[Donkey Man]

I chat with plenty. We often have projects not just with people from other nations but in other countries where multiple contractors are on site together.

As I said above, you evidently chat in a language both sides understand - otherwise you wouldn't be chatting with them right now. Live translation is only useful if you are conversing with someone who CANNOT understand what you say and vice-versa.

 

[Parowdy]

Can we get multiple users please? Thank you

Only people downvoting have no clue what it’s like with kids or younger siblings in a single device household.
This single feature would make life’s so much easier for so many people, especially in Asia, not to sound condescending. There are many regions without iPad kiddies. Not everyone has their own device, so at least give us each their own app and game saves.

 

[H2SO4]

As I said above, you evidently chat in a language both sides understand - otherwise you wouldn't be chatting with them right now. Live translation is only useful if you are conversing with someone who CANNOT understand what you say and vice-versa.

No dude, what a silly post. Live chat is always a useful addition. How can you not understand that not everybody on site either speaks the same language as you at all or as well?

 

[Supermacguy]

Can I opt out of Liquid Glass? Turn it off totally? Just have plain jane iOS 18 solid colors?

 

[BuffaloTF]

Can I opt out of Liquid Glass? Turn it off totally? Just have plain jane iOS 18 solid colors?

That kinda makes me think. What if it was colored? Not the clear glass, not the frosted glass it has become… stained glass, if you will. Those shapes, solid colors…

 

[Donkey Man]

With no translators present? I doubt it.

This feature at best is potentially useful for holiday goers trying to fumble through a food order or getting directions and the like.

Exactly what I am trying to say - at best, this may be useful if you are visiting somewhere with a completely unknown language and you need to exchange messages

No dude, what a silly post. Live chat is always a useful addition. How can you not understand that not everybody on site either speaks the same language as you at all or as well?

Well, "dude", how do the same people "chat" with you today? Sign language?

 

[applefan8254]

Only people downvoting Jae no clue what’s it’s like with kids or younger siblings in a single device household.
This single feature would make life’s so much easier for so many people, especially in Asia, not to sound condescending. There are many regions without iPad kiddies. Not everyone has their own device, so at least give us each their own app and game saves.

Thank you !

 

[apple2022]

Running the beta for a while now. Looking at apps like Ticketmaster and trying to imagine them making the whole thing uglier and harder to use just to conform to Liquid Glass is hard to imagine. I guess we’ll see how the developers deal with this. Sigh. Just as Android, Apple, and developers were locking down a thoughtful, functional, and consistent UI/UX

 

[Parowdy]

No dude, what a silly post. Live chat is always a useful addition. How can you not understand that not everybody on site either speaks the same language as you at all or as well?

Exactly. Working with ever changing, sometimes international, coworkers that don’t understand English that well, let alone speak or write isn’t uncommon nowadays.

 

[mxrider88]

So MacRumors just shouldn’t produce any content?

It is not just macrumors, it’s a general observation.. people could also try to produce content with some content instead of frivolous click baits.. but they don’t like people to talk about it so they send you warnings when you make such comments…

There are very few YouTubers and journalists out there creating compelling stuff, the rest is just word salads..

Now I’m waiting for another warning..