iOS 26 to iOS 18

[NerdNinja90]

Hello,

I really regret updating to iOS 26.1 on my iPhone 14 Pro. I really dislike the Liquid Glass. Is there a chance Apple could allow us to downgrade again in the near future to iOS 18 or that's the end of it for good? I know it's not possible now.

 

[1105]

It's over. Only option at this point would be to buy a new old device with 18.

 

[Reverend Benny]

Hello,

I really regret updating to iOS 26.1 on my iPhone 14 Pro. I really dislike the Liquid Glass. Is there a chance Apple could allow us to downgrade again in the near future to iOS 18 or that's the end of it for good? I know it's not possible now.

My advice is to get used to it. Tweak the UI so that it looks a bit more like iOS 18 if you can. Support for iOS 18 will end soon for devices that can be updated.

 

[admanny]

My advice is to get used to it. Tweak the UI so that it looks a bit more like iOS 18 if you can. Support for iOS 18 will end soon for devices that can be updated.

This exactly. If iOS 26.2 is released and no 18.7.3 as well I'm jumping ship. That signals the end of the 18 train (for those not on XR/XS). I do not mess with missing out on security updates

 

[Michael Swartzbeck]

See my thread on how I'm still sitting on 16.3.1.
In the Updates Available frame in my Settings, it's showing me that the iPadOS 18 update is available, and the v26 update.
As the v18 update was pulled very quickly owing to it bricking iPads in large numbers, I'm not so sure about just trying v18 and blowing off v26 — and what I'm reading is making me nervous about that as well.

I'm working on an early '22 M1 5th Gen iPad pro 12.9, 256gb storage, 8gb ram.

...meanwhile, I have an iPhone SE2020 with v18.5 on it which hasn't really given me any problems, unless you count the phone wanting to decide for itself where the call audio is routed (finally managed to get the little sucker to settle down and route my audio through the speaker).

 

[NerdNinja90]

See my thread on how I'm still sitting on 16.3.1.
In the Updates Available frame in my Settings, it's showing me that the iPadOS 18 update is available, and the v26 update.
As the v18 update was pulled very quickly owing to it bricking iPads in large numbers, I'm not so sure about just trying v18 and blowing off v26 — and what I'm reading is making me nervous about that as well.

I'm working on an early '22 M1 5th Gen iPad pro 12.9, 256gb storage, 8gb ram.

...meanwhile, I have an iPhone SE2020 with v18.5 on it which hasn't really given me any problems, unless you count the phone wanting to decide for itself where the call audio is routed (finally managed to get the little sucker to settle down and route my audio through the speaker).

Personally, I would stay with iOS 18 and not move to iOS 26 as Liquid Glass is demanding on the CPU and GPU for older devices. My iPhone 14 Pro ran perfect on iOS 18 and I regret it. I know other people will say there are ways to reduce the effects, yes that's true, but it isn't the "classic" mode as you would get in iOS 18. I've send feedback and contacted Apple Support to let them know that it's unfair how quickly they took away the downgrade option for iOS 18 and that the Liquid Glass can't be turned off completely. Also, as for security vulnerabilities, that's true too if you're not on the latest version, but to be honest I been using my Apple Watch SE with watchOS 10 and I never heard of a case where someone got "hacked" due to their outdated software such as when it comes to banking, iCloud information, and so on. But, I could be wrong. That's my two cents.

 

[FeliApple]

Personally, I would stay with iOS 18 and not move to iOS 26 as Liquid Glass is demanding on the CPU and GPU for older devices. My iPhone 14 Pro ran perfect on iOS 18 and I regret it. I know other people will say there are ways to reduce the effects, yes that's true, but it isn't the "classic" mode as you would get in iOS 18. I've send feedback and contacted Apple Support to let them know that it's unfair how quickly they took away the downgrade option for iOS 18 and that the Liquid Glass can't be turned off completely.

Apple did the exact same thing last year, and if I’m not mistaken, the year before. You should’ve known that you had a week since release to downgrade.

Complaints about performance and battery life were everywhere, even with the GM before the official release of iOS 26, and even on the iPhone 16. The information was out there.