iOS 26 is Apple's biggest release this year alongside the new iPhone lineup, yet it has once again been poorly received by fans who call it a 'downgrade' that's littered with 'diabolically ugly' new features.
It has almost become a tradition at this point that the latest iOS update receives backlash upon release, as you only have to cast your mind back to this point last year when many were incessantly slamming iOS 18.
However, plenty of Apple fans had their hopes raised when iOS 26 was revealed a few months ago – especially with its impressive visual overhaul – yet the finished product now it's finally in our hands has left many feeling deflated.
While it might not still be enough to turn you off buying one of the new iPhones when they release later this week, it still could be worth holding off on that tempting upgrade to see if it gets any better in the near future.
What's new with iOS 26?
iOS 26 is definitely one of the biggest overhauls that Apple has introduced in a couple of years, with the new 'Liquid Glass' design definitely the flagship aspect of this update.
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Aiming to emulate the visuals you might see in an augmented reality headset like Apple's own Vision Pro, Liquid Glass combines "the optical qualities of glass with a sense of fluidity" by reflecting and refracting what's underneath at all times.
This applies to almost every aspect of your iPhone's user interface, and will definitely take some adjustment even if you're the biggest fan of the new design.
Artificial intelligence is also key to a number of other key additions in iOS 26, with the option to directly ask ChatGPT about anything that's currently on your screen paired with an abundance of Apple Intelligence-powered tools like automatic message translation and what Apple calls 'intelligent actions'.
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Apple has also added the much-requested ability to screen calls, making calls from unknown numbers much more convenient as they now have to state their name and reason before they're filtered through to your phone.
How have people reacted to iOS 26?
While all of those lovely features might sound great in theory, many people have heavily criticised the new update, taking particular aim at the Liquid Glass visual design.
One post on the r/iphone subreddit asked people to share their thoughts on iOS 26 now that it has finally launched, and the responses were quite mixed, with many leaning more towards the negative side of things.
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"Absolutely a downgrade" declares one commenter, with another adding that "it feels like possibly the worst update to date. This direction just feels too clunky for me, everything is so big, the apps and the clock on the wallpaper look so 2007."
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This idea that it's a regression is echoed throughout the comments section, with a third user bemoaning that they "miss the flatness already" and that it "feels like we have gone back in time."
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The general 'ugliness' of the update is also a popular topic of conversation with one X user lamenting that "it looks like pure s***," with another in the Reddit thread asserting that they "will be sticking with iOS 18 for as long as I can."
It's not necessarily all bad news though — the original poster themselves wrote that it "looks good to me so far," and many other comments appear to simply be apathetic towards an update that, for them, hasn't actually changed much.