Apple should make sure those with old devices will still be a good experience. Take Liquid Glass and some of the other heavy elements out. You can still do some of the other stuff/features and ship it as an update.
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Why does Apple allow older phones like the 12 to get IOS 26 when it's clearly not powerful enough to do so?
- Thread starter Slo Pesci
- Start date
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Dirk Pieters
macrumors 6502
I'm keeping my 13 on 18.7.7 until I see what 27 holds. A family member upgraded their SE2 to iOS 26 against my advice and while it is usable, definitely more sluggish
FeliApple
macrumors 601
Apple will never do this. It’s time to stop hoping and expecting Apple to do better.
Liquid glass itself definitively proves that they do not care.
Update expecting device collapse and act accordingly, or stay behind. It’s time to stop blaming Apple entirely. The user shares part of that responsibility by now. People should know better by now.
throAU
macrumors G4
I know someone running 26 on a 12 pro max just fine.
The reason: security features. Slow but secure is better than fast and dangerously vulnerable.
the real crime was iPhone OS 4 being released on the iPhone 3G. Practically bricked it. And they left out the wallpaper feature lol because the screen didn’t meet their standards
I can confirm that. I am still using my iPhone 3G (iOS 4.2.1 in Airplane Mode) as my daily alarm clock.
I love the form factor, but the lag is very high. (and the display really looks like crap compared to today's displays )
Populus
macrumors 604
To OP, @Slo Pesci iOS 26.4 shouldn’t lag on an A14 device. I have an A15 device with the same amount of RAM and iOS 26.4 is very smooth and battery life is good. Of course, I don’t have battery draining apps such as Instagram or TikTok. Maybe that’s the problem, some unoptimized apps?
My solution for your problem:
1) Make a backup of your content, preferably just the photos and documents in files app, and then, perform a clean install of iOS 26.4.1 doing a DFU restore using a computer and a cable.
2) If that doesn’t solve the problem, just wait for iOS 27 as all the rumors point towards a more optimized system, with many bug fixes and performance improvements.
My solution for your problem:
1) Make a backup of your content, preferably just the photos and documents in files app, and then, perform a clean install of iOS 26.4.1 doing a DFU restore using a computer and a cable.
2) If that doesn’t solve the problem, just wait for iOS 27 as all the rumors point towards a more optimized system, with many bug fixes and performance improvements.
Nice ROI. PS There is a way to downgrade it back to 3 or 2 (release version) if you were so inclined.
KnowsHowItWorks
Suspended
Had a similar experience with my iPad Mini 4. Admittedly a very old iPad, but one which at one point ran beautifully and which is nearly unusable under the highest iPadOS it’s allowed to run.
That’s a pretty f**cked up and cynical take.
You should be able to trust the device maker to not push out an update that slows down the device so much it is hard to use. The constant messaging from Apple and everyone else is “keep your devices updated” but then sometimes the update hoses your device? Very cool.
Apple can and does limit which devices can receive which updates. Apple also could probably figure out how to deprecate whatever features within an OS version are slowing things way down -- but sometimes they don’t.
iHorseHead
macrumors 68020
WarmWinterHat
Suspended
You could easily downgrade the 3g, though, and I did. I never moved mine past 3.1.3.
The lockout from downgrading didn't happen till a few years later.
nekton1
macrumors 65816
26.4.1 runs fine on my iPhone SE 2020 and I just used it to code a new Health & Lifestyle app that shows no signs of the claimed lag. Many claims of slow iPhones are due to apps running in background and hogging resources. Keep the number of installed apps lean and remove all those just-in-case photos and older iPhones are still fine with iOS26.x. When it can't run iOS 27 or 28, I'll upgrade b/c I don't suffer from FOMO and don't worry about wasting a ms or two in a lifetime.
Contact_Feanor
macrumors 6502
sure, bad experiences notoriously make consumers buy the same brand again
Wowfunhappy
macrumors 68020
But who decided to make it not reversible? Apple.
It sure would be nice if you could upgrade to a new version of iOS, see how it runs on your device, and then downgrade if it’s too slow. But Apple won't let you.
Last edited:
BSDnostalgia
macrumors 6502
I'm on an SE3 which has 4GB and one generation newer slightly faster processor. Works fine.
26.4.1 working fine on 4GB SE3.
Agree. SE3 is working fine.
I am, however, having trouble on my 9th gen iPad, which is one more version back, an A13 Bionic 3 GB memory, and, of course, a screen with more pixels. So, that is kind of where the performance inflection point is. Note also that upgrades are a hassle with "only" 64GB Storage, another reason to stop updating before 26. I had my reasons for doing it, but, it definitely is a stretch.
That is pure speculation. Who said that that requires Apple to ship the new and redesigned iOS 26? It would comply with the requirement just shipping security updates to iOS 18 or even iOS 17, which it already does.
headlessmike
macrumors 68000
DiddyParty
Suspended
An individual devices battery might be in worse shape, and when unable to deliver peak power, now that cutting off entirely like happened on the iPhone 5, it just throttles right down to cope with demand. Most likely the case unless everybody here with a 12 comes out of the wood work to say they feel somewhat similar.
We had a friend using a 4S in 2014/2015... now that thing was slow on its last supported iOS'
We had a friend using a 4S in 2014/2015... now that thing was slow on its last supported iOS'