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iOS 26 Shows Unusually Slow Adoption Months After Release [Updated]
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turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
I've yet to find a normal person in my family (normal being non tech obsessed and who doesn't follow any of this) who likes any of the changes.
Over the holidays it was all very much a "meh .. why did they do this and that?" sort of vibe.
I sure did find a lot of folks who have given up on triaging the notification badges.
OMG. I was getting stressed out in CarPlay with my cousins phone having "173" in red on the Phone App and "735" in red on the Messages App.
It stopped syncing that correctly between her iPhone, MacBook and iPad and she gave up and it just keeps getting worse.
Over the holidays it was all very much a "meh .. why did they do this and that?" sort of vibe.
I sure did find a lot of folks who have given up on triaging the notification badges.
OMG. I was getting stressed out in CarPlay with my cousins phone having "173" in red on the Phone App and "735" in red on the Messages App.
It stopped syncing that correctly between her iPhone, MacBook and iPad and she gave up and it just keeps getting worse.
sergekills
macrumors 6502
People are waiting for it to be stable and I can’t blame them. I updated my iPhone to look around and maybe get used to the looks, but the amount of bugs is insane. Waited too long to downgrade, so I missed this moment.
iOS 26 is the worst updates in YEARS
iOS 26 is the worst updates in YEARS
This was Apple’s attempt to inject “new technology” into a product that is nearing the end of its technological capacity to improve. I think all pocket phones, regardless of brand, are facing the same technology precipice. The problem I’m having with iOS 26 is finding where they move some settings for hardware and apps. IOS 26 was more of a fashion statement than a real technical improvement to the functionality of the hardware and user apps.
And that’s not even addressing the genuine bugs. Links that don’t work, web pages that hang up and more. For those who say 26 works great for them, I say “good for you.” But you’re a distinct minority.
ProbablyDylan
macrumors 68040
I was about to comment something similar. I have a handful of relatives that were looking forward to upgrading to new iPhones but were dissuaded by Liquid Glass.
Normal people, mind you. The kind that are afraid of android because iPhone is (supposed to be) easier.
This is why Alan Dye was pushed out the door and likely why we will see some rollback for OS27.
Personally I think 26 is worth it just for the better photos app.
Personally I think 26 is worth it just for the better photos app.
Sowelu
macrumors 6502a
There is nothing unusual about this unless you’re living under a rock or didn’t do a tiny bit of research before deciding to upgrade. It would be unusual if the adoption rate was typical. Let’s drop the delusion for those of us who don’t need an invite to future Apple events or early access to new products to ‘review’.
The renaming everything to 26 made sense.
I don't care for the Liquid Glass or whatever, but I don't mind as long as there is progress elsewhere, but there isn't. Screen Time hasn't been touched in what feels like a decade (when my kids were young, one of them is an adult now). I feel like MacOS has stagnated. The office suite apps haven't meaningfully changed in what feels like forever. You can't lock notes that have a checklists for some reason.
Safairi is fine. Just fine. Not bad enough to switch to Firefox when you're in the ecosystem, but otherwise a second-place choice - and it shouldn't be tied to OS releases.
And there's bugs, lots of bugs. Freezes, hitching, apps hang, sometimes run into memory leaks, processes hang in Activity Monitor and you don't know unless you are looking for it.
Uninstalling applications on MacOS is worse than either Windows or Linux.
I was hopeful that the convergence of IOS/iPadOS/MacOS would result in both stability and the ability to add new features easier, but it seems Apple is either not there yet, or has higher priorities. AI is a joke. I turned it off for two months and didn't notice a difference (other than +20% batt life). I turned it back on to see what I was missing, and again, I don't see any real difference. Notification summaries and writing tools, that's it?
I don't care for the Liquid Glass or whatever, but I don't mind as long as there is progress elsewhere, but there isn't. Screen Time hasn't been touched in what feels like a decade (when my kids were young, one of them is an adult now). I feel like MacOS has stagnated. The office suite apps haven't meaningfully changed in what feels like forever. You can't lock notes that have a checklists for some reason.
Safairi is fine. Just fine. Not bad enough to switch to Firefox when you're in the ecosystem, but otherwise a second-place choice - and it shouldn't be tied to OS releases.
And there's bugs, lots of bugs. Freezes, hitching, apps hang, sometimes run into memory leaks, processes hang in Activity Monitor and you don't know unless you are looking for it.
Uninstalling applications on MacOS is worse than either Windows or Linux.
I was hopeful that the convergence of IOS/iPadOS/MacOS would result in both stability and the ability to add new features easier, but it seems Apple is either not there yet, or has higher priorities. AI is a joke. I turned it off for two months and didn't notice a difference (other than +20% batt life). I turned it back on to see what I was missing, and again, I don't see any real difference. Notification summaries and writing tools, that's it?
sergekills
macrumors 6502
I wonder if they ever used Safari.
Every single day I type something into the search bar and the app goes totally blank with no search results and I have to type it again or even relaunch the app.
Every. Single. Day.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
It's pretty amazing how complex the iPhone interface has gotten.
(This is not a compliment)
I think at some point the "Pro" phones should have had a "Pro OS" split off.
The amount of different stuff that can happen when sliding up or down from off screen and from where exactly is anything but intuitive.
You’d be shocked how little people not on this message board care about which version of iOS they have or even notice Liquid Glass.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
I'm honestly just refreshed to see so many folks saying out loud what is super obvious to anyone being objective.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Until you hear "my phone changed and I don't like it", which I heard verbatim the day after Christmas.
in spite of their nasty tricks. shows how truly horrible this iteration is
sergekills
macrumors 6502
Come on! It’s impossible to miss the update.
First of all, the iPhone greets you with an update message if you triggered it or it managed to update itself.
Second of all, all of my non-tech friends reached me asking how to bring everything back.
People do notice. It’s impossible to ignore this glossy, reflective, bouncy piece of liquid ass
says_stuff
macrumors regular
I really thought you guys would get it once the adoption rates showed up.
I have read, over and over, that only a small minority of stuck old people were complaining about this os.. How come this supposed minority caused all this? Real life normal people are supposedly in awe of the new os, installing it in droves..
It seems that people actually care about what version they are on, avoiding this one. How can we be reading the same thing and coming to different conclusions, really? Dont you see how the adoption is different from past versions?
sergekills
macrumors 6502
This is how people work. We will be watching the same video and some people would say that a woman in a car was a threat to a murderer, she tried to run him over and he acted in self defense while others definitely see that she was just trying to get away from them, was not a threat and got killed for nothing.
HouseLannister
macrumors 68040
klasma
macrumors G4
It has to remain a user choice because some apps stop working on new major versions.
I don’t like Liquid Glass… but it’s the least of my problems with 26. The so-called “little people” as you call them will no doubt notice when their commands don’t work.
Very true. iOS 7 was light years ago.
While it seems Apple is too big to fail, it's becoming apparent that there is a distant possibility they may be reduced to a shadow of their former selves.
Trundling along offering products to the Apple Faithful and other hangers on. Remaining profitable but no longer a leader in any particular category.
A situation once unimaginable suddenly becomes reality. It’s happened before to once great companies.
Joosst
macrumors regular
Please let us go back to iOS 18. Updating was a mistake!