iOS 26 Tweaks Back Gesture to Make Navigation Easier on Bigger iPhones

[AudiA4]

I've been pleading for Apple to implement "swipe right" to go "BACK" in Apple News since it was introduced. As it is, it merely goes to the previous article in the random list of articles that Apple News curates per user...like, who would ever read the infinite number of articles in order? Goodness...hope this gesture now takes you back to the news list.

 

[Slix]

Fun fact! This was possible on the 2010 iPod nano and 2012 iPod nano.

The iPod nano 6th gen from 2010 also had a long press shortcut to take you straight back to the home screen.

 

[ZombiePete]

This kind of feature has been successfully implemented in apps like Apollo (RIP) and Narwhal 2 for a long time; it’s a fantastic option for navigation and I am very happy that it’s being implemented at the OS level.

 

[Parowdy]

Sorry but copying Android is such a no brainer. OnePlus does it perfectly, this doesn’t address the underlying problems at all. It’s appreciated but really just signals that Apple won’t back down form their decade old broken back swipe.

 

[Parowdy]

Are there still controls at the top of the screen anywhere does anyone know ? I thought this was going to be the version that finally did away with them.

Well there surely are. In Photos for example Select stays at the top. In Finder the More Options button also remains. In Notes Adding a Folder and Edit also remain up top.

 

[Populus]

Safari still requires the gesture from the edge of the display on iOS 26.

Oh, good. Hopefully other apps that need horizontal scrolling won’t adopt this feature either.

 

[toodeep]

Android long ago separated swipes from the edges from swipes within content, solving any ambiguity. iOS needs a universal accessible BACK gesture to be competitive.

 

[r8to1]

Never been a problem for us left handers

 

[GioGiusi]

This will break the functionality of some apps, which open the menu if you swipe like this.

That's not advisable HID anyway, so they will need to fix what they already broke.

 

[bbfc]

This raises some concerns on me…

There are instances where you just need to swipe right, or left (no, I’m not thinking about dating apps specifically) on the interface, even without buttons, and this could trigger a “back” action. Like, say you’re in a webpage wider than your screen, for whatever reason, it’s not fully progressive, your zoom is wrong, you’re using the desktop view, whatever. And you swipe to move laterally. Would then you go back?

It doesn’t work in Safari.

 

[Naraxus]

Or, you could make, you know .... a "smaller phone" too.

The smaller iPhones don't sell and that's been clear for years now otherwise Apple would still be making them. The vast majority want larger iPhones and Apple is going to design for where the most money is. Smaller-sized iPhones aren't coming back any time soon, if ever.

 

[ATmahe]

That's not advisable HID anyway, so they will need to fix what they already broke.

Did they actually break it?
I mean, I never needed to reach to the top to get into the main menu.
For me that’s an advantage.

 

[d686546s]

On my Samsung that work forces on me I can swipe from the right edge of the screen to the left, which tbh works really well on a large device.

We'll see how Apple's implementation works, but I found Android's solution quite intuitive.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

finally. still not as good as android but that's a step in the right direction

 

[jonplackett]

I have never in my life ‘swiped to go back’ intentionally. Yet I have swiped to go back more times I can count. FFS don’t make this any easier 😭. Please let me turn this off

 

[toodeep]

Some prioritise phone two-handed operation, and some one-handed. Without a practical back gesture iPhones require two hands irrespective of device size. Why limit users and market access, especially when there's competition? iOS26 isn't just to churn the installed base but also to keep iPhone relevant.

 

[twistedpixel8]

This will break the functionality of some apps, which open the menu if you swipe like this.

Terrible anti-pattern anyway. I’m yet to see a well implemented example of this. It’s usually just annoying and triggered unintentionally.

My guess is that the swipe gesture will be ignored (or deferred to whatever event handler the developer has configured) unless the edge of the canvas is sufficiently close to the edge of the viewport. This would allow even apps that require horizontal scrolling between cards.

 

[ATmahe]

It’s usually just annoying and triggered unintentionally.

yeah, it took me a while to get used to. But for me it's fine as long as it doesn't overrule a systemwide gesture.

 

[bluecoast]

Well there surely are. In Photos for example Select stays at the top. In Finder the More Options button also remains. In Notes Adding a Folder and Edit also remain up top.

Ah thanks & shame. It’s long overdue to move all controls to the bottom where possible.

 

[!!!]

I sure hope this isn't as easy to trigger accidentally when trying to scroll and just wiggling a bit as on some apps that already implement this themselves.

Ugh, I'm gonna hate this. I already have trouble with so many apps and webpages where as I scroll I start accidentally triggering their swipe gestures. It's so frustrating, because then I have to be extra careful to swipe(scroll) up and down perfectly. God forbid your thumb is attached to your hand apparently, it should just float above the screen and be able to move up and down perfectly without any pivot