Reason why you have not updated to i(Pad)OS 26?

[iFloris]

Hi everyone,

I’m curious to know if there are other Apple enthusiasts like me who haven’t yet updated to the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer. Why is that?

For me, it’s because I’ve noticed a significant performance drop in my M1 iPad with the latest update. It feels much slower and laggier.

That, + the fact that my iPhone 15 Pro’s battery isn’t great already makes me not want to upgrading to the latest version of iOS 26 on my iPhone 15 Pro.

As a result, I haven’t updated my M1 Pro to Tahoe or my iPhone 15 Pro to iOS 26.

I’m curious to know if there are any other reasons why you haven’t updated yet!

 

[turbineseaplane]

I simply want to wait until the "bun" has been "in the oven" for longer.

I plan to wait until sometime in 2026 on all my devices.

 

[jph200]

I bought a 17 Pro after 5 years of being on an 12 Pro and I've never been so disappointed with an Apple product, ever. iOS 26 is horrible for me. It is littered with bugs, has a ridiculous UI even with reduced transparency, and just doesn't offer me anything of value and has been an overall headache to use. And I'm not usually one of those people who "hates" every update or change!

Because of that, I have not updated my iPad and will not do so until these issues improve.

 

[FeliApple]

I never update anything regardless, but I dislike the design and it is a battery hog on pretty much every device. It also has several performance issues on every device, including the latest ones. My 16 Plus and my 11th-gen iPad run iOS (and iPadOS) 18.

I will never update.

 

[zhenya]

Battery is fine in 26.1. No serious bugs encountered. Much smoother even on my older 2018 iPP. Multitasking is a sea change in how the device is used.

 

[dmr727]

I usually wait until the xx.1 version of any new OS on my phone and iPad, so I'll likely make the leap once that becomes available soon. Supposedly 26.1 has settings to allow you to dial back the liquid glass transparency, which I'm happy about.

For my computers, I never upgrade the OS unless there's a feature I need/want or the security updates stop. So it'll be a long time before my M4 Air sees Tahoe.

 

[MisterSavage]

Battery is fine in 26.1. No serious bugs encountered. Much smoother even on my older 2018 iPP. Multitasking is a sea change in how the device is used.

Same. I heard that wasn't the case with the betas this summer but my 2018 is fine now with the 26.1 beta.

 

[HouseLannister]

Lack of features.

 

[now i see it]

I never even consider installing a new OS until just before the next one drops. August is the best time, before WWDC.
Why? It takes them 11 months to finally finish the damn thing.
My dream OS is one the gets completely out of the way - without thinking about it. Unfortunately the designers think differently and each new version piles on more crap.

 

[TVreporter]

I just wait as long as I can - like iOS I’m still on 17.6.1

What am I missing? Since I have a gimped 15 I don’t get AI either - thanks Tim!

 

[turbineseaplane]

What am I missing?

Bugs basically ...

So "nothing".

I'd keep waiting if I were you, and only "upgrade" when you get App compatibility issues.

 

[winxmac]

I decided to wait for the near stable version which is usually available around WWDC, either version x.6 or x.7 which ever is available. If there's a version x.8 I also update to that too.

Apple's hardware is great and powerful, no doubt, but the software quality is no longer how it used to be.

 

[klasma]

I’ve gotten into the habit of only upgrading towards the end of the yearly cycle, and sometimes even skipping a major version. This is due to the bugginess early in the cycle, generally growing tired of the update churn (once a year is more than enough), and sometimes also due to disliking particular changes. I only upgraded to i(Pad)OS 18 a couple of weeks ago in September.

I tried out iOS 26.0 on a spare device, but it’s such a visual mess, and is decreasing contrast and legibility for me, that I have incentive to avoid it as long as possible. I’ll reevaluate sometime next year.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I updated my iPad Pro to iPadOS26 and haven't had very many issues and battery life has been good. My 15PM is on 18.7.1 and my watches are on 11.6.1 and I really don't have a reason why I didn't update to the most recent versions. I guess I'll be updating my 15PM and watches when Apple stops updating iOS18 and WatchOS11

 

[G5isAlive]

Bugs basically ...

So "nothing".

I'd keep waiting if I were you, and only "upgrade" when you get App compatibility issues.

Your words would carry more weight if you actually tried it for more than a few minutes. I’ve yet to encounter an update with no bugs, but was prepared for the worst given the belly aching here. I was pleasantly surprised and like the upgrade, would say you should try it but that would be off brand. Cheers.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

I'm keeping my devices on last year's releases simply because I don't like the UI of macOS/iOS/iPadOS 26. macOS 26 is especially egregious to me.

 

[FeliApple]

Your words would carry more weight if you actually tried it for more than a few minutes. I’ve yet to encounter an update with no bugs, but was prepared for the worst given the belly aching here. I was pleasantly surprised and like the upgrade, would say you should try it but that would be off brand. Cheers.

We can’t try it! That’s the problem. If I update, I can’t go back. What if it is garbage in terms of performance and/or battery life? Tough luck, now you have a garbage device and you can’t do anything.

I’d be open to the possibility of trying updates if I could go back.

 

[zenmacx]

I simply want to wait until the "bun" has been "in the oven" for longer.

I plan to wait until sometime in 2026 on all my devices.

This is the way I’ve approached each major iOS/ iPadOS/ macOS over the years. It’s a very wise approach.

However in a moment of unexplained optimism, this year I violated my own rule and I’m paying the price. “Upgrading” my iPhone 16 Pro Max to iOS 26 was a massive mistake 😳

Fortunately I’ve not made this mistake with my MacBooks or iPads.

There’s a lot to be said for waiting 😉

 

[FeliApple]

This is the way I’ve approached each major iOS/ iPadOS/ macOS over the years. It’s a very wise approach.

However in a moment of unexplained optimism, this year I violated my own rule and I’m paying the price. “Upgrading” my iPhone 16 Pro Max to iOS 26 was a massive mistake 😳

Fortunately I’ve not made this mistake with my MacBooks or iPads.

There’s a lot to be said for waiting 😉

Once you try waiting forever, there’s no way back!

Do you like Liquid Glass at least?

 

[zenmacx]

I bought a 17 Pro after 5 years of being on an 12 Pro and I've never been so disappointed with an Apple product, ever. iOS 26 is horrible for me. It is littered with bugs, has a ridiculous UI even with reduced transparency, and just doesn't offer me anything of value and has been an overall headache to use. And I'm not usually one of those people who "hates" every update or change!

Because of that, I have not updated my iPad and will not do so until these issues improve.

While I don’t “hate” anything or anyone… I do find iOS/ iPadOS/ macOS 26 simply dreadful.

After years as a reasonably satisfied Apple customer, recent trends and experiences have me questioning everything from the Cupertino company.

An unfortunate situation.

 

[zenmacx]

Once you try waiting forever, there’s no way back!

Do you like Liquid Glass at least?

As one who accepts change, I’ve tried to embrace Liquid Glass knowing it’s how things are going to be going forward.

Preferring to use the most current OS, I upgraded my iPhone 16 Pro Max, have spent more than sufficient time making adjustments only to find it’s issues too numerous to mention.

It is important to note that I am a very heavy business and personal user of nearly all its capabilities which in turn exacerbates the frustration as it has negatively impacted my normal workflow.

Those I know who only use their iPhone for moderate personal use suffer no such inconvenience.

 

[Siliconguy]

I just wait as long as I can - like iOS I’m still on 17.6.1

What am I missing? Since I have a gimped 15 I don’t get AI either - thanks Tim!

That's a blessing unless you feel that your own current level of Idiocy needs to be Augmented.

I have an upgrade question as well. Should I upgrade my 9th generation iPad to an 11th during Black Friday? The 11th is likely to the last one free of Augmented Idiocy. That is a valuable feature.

If I do get an 11th then I could use Apple's email service. (My ISP is dropping the email service so I need to move.) Of the alternatives I think Apple and Yahoo are the best. But I was phasing Apple out of my life so that would be a change of course. But maybe the iPad is enough reason to stay partly in the system without getting dragged down too far with fluff. The desktop is Linux and not going back. This laptop may be going to Asahi Linux as well, but at the moment is is on AI-free Sonoma.

More specifically, I don't know what you are missing, but iPadOS 18.7 is running well now but had a terrible start. The worst since System 7.5.2 for the PCI Powermacs.

 

[FeliApple]

As one who accepts change, I’ve tried to embrace Liquid Glass knowing it’s how things are going to be going forward.

Preferring to use the most current OS, I upgraded my iPhone 16 Pro Max, have spent more than sufficient time making adjustments only to find it’s issues too numerous to mention.

It is important to note that I am a very heavy business and personal user of nearly all its capabilities which in turn exacerbates the frustration as it has negatively impacted my normal workflow.

Those I know who only use their iPhone for moderate personal use suffer no such inconvenience.

Yeah, I understand that. If you have to change you might as well get it over with.

I prefer the approach of “if I have to change I might as well use a device designed for it”. So I’ll keep iOS 18 on my 16 Plus forever and I’ll get used to Liquid Garbage once I upgrade the device.

I’m sure I’ll get used to it even if I don’t like it fairly quickly once I upgrade, but it will not be soon.

I’m lucky that I also upgraded my iPad (an 11th-gen running iPadOS 18) so I have the latest devices on the latest possible non-Liquid Glass versions. So hopefully I can avoid Liquid Glass for a while…

 

[zenmacx]

Yeah, I understand that. If you have to change you might as well get it over with.

I prefer the approach of “if I have to change I might as well use a device designed for it”. So I’ll keep iOS 18 on my 16 Plus forever and I’ll get used to Liquid Garbage once I upgrade the device.

I’m sure I’ll get used to it even if I don’t like it fairly quickly once I upgrade, but it will not be soon.

I’m lucky that I also upgraded my iPad (an 11th-gen running iPadOS 18) so I have the latest devices on the latest possible non-Liquid Glass versions. So hopefully I can avoid Liquid Glass for a while…

You have a good plan in place.

Enjoy it while it lasts 😊

 

[MPclk2006]

Hi everyone,

I’m curious to know if there are other Apple enthusiasts like me who haven’t yet updated to the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer. Why is that?

For me, it’s because I’ve noticed a significant performance drop in my M1 iPad with the latest update. It feels much slower and laggier.

That, + the fact that my iPhone 15 Pro’s battery isn’t great already makes me not want to upgrading to the latest version of iOS 26 on my iPhone 15 Pro.

As a result, I haven’t updated my M1 Pro to Tahoe or my iPhone 15 Pro to iOS 26.

I’m curious to know if there are any other reasons why you haven’t updated yet!

This is the first time ever I have not upgraded any devices to the newest available IOS. I will at some point I just don't see a reason...before there was always something I was looking forward to but not this time.