Is iOS 26 to blame for drained battery life, lost connectivity, and a laggy keyboard?
While it was much-anticipated, Apple’s latest operating system makeover has not been met with a great deal of enthusiasm.
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While it was much-anticipated, Apple’s latest operating system makeover has not been met with a great deal of enthusiasm.
For Apple, September not only marked the launch of its latest smartphone series, iPhone 17, but also the release of the new software update, iOS 26, to the company’s devices.
Apple first hinted at a new operating system during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025, promising a true overhaul of its future OS.
Among the expected OS changes, the most talked-about was its new visual redesign, Liquid Glass, which provides icons and menus with a transparent look.
The new operating system was also expected to get an updated Apple Intelligence with new features such as Live Translation, and help users find various types of information through Visual Intelligence.
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Now that some users have already tried the new iOS 26 and its features, they didn’t hold back on their thoughts on the new redesign, revealing a few problems along the way.
“Liquid Glass” that “feels like plastic elevator buttons”
“Did you already update your phone?” I was asked after the recent iOS 26 rollout.
While I was curious to see how the much-anticipated upgrade would look, I still haven’t downloaded it to my iPhone 16 Pro after hearing comments that it messes up your keyboard, with some users reporting that the keys tend to lag.
Sure, this isn’t the worst problem in the world, and it could be bearable if everything else works smoothly. So, I went down the rabbit hole to see what other interface-related issues users are reporting about iOS 26 before hitting that update button.
When it came to the new keyboard changes, users on Reddit noted that " first-party apps seem to use the new keyboard, but third-party ones are using the old one,” making the user experience less coherent.
selecting text in iOS26 feels like a street fighter 4 double ultra ko combo pic.twitter.com/hk2ulQ52t9
undefined robot (@alightinastorm) September 17, 2025
When Apple’s new software upgrade was still in development, those who had the opportunity to test it already claimed that the new transparent interface, known as Liquid Glass, made it difficult to see icons or read the text.
Now, users note other irritating details related to the new design.
“I don’t like the borders on the icons.. it’s too much,” wrote one user.
“Agreed. It doesn't feel like glass to me. It feels like plastic elevator buttons. It looks especially bad with a solid black home screen,” added another netizen.
“I hate how a lot of app icons look blurry now. It’s annoying,” wrote another user, hinting that Apple didn’t take care of the issue with the new design, making it harder for users to take in information.
“There are so many useless cosmetic changes... yet there's still no indicator for whether a page has already been bookmarked in Safari. Apple needs to get its priorities straight,” concluded the Redditor.
Is iOS 26 draining the battery life?
When Apple introduced its iPhone 17 series during the annual product launch this September, it also introduced a new iOS 26 feature, Adaptive Power Mode.
The new feature employs Apple’s artificial intelligence to learn how users’ smartphone battery is consumed and predict when they might run low, thereby preserving the phone's power.
However, after downloading iOS 26, some iPhone users noted that it affected their battery life.
Curious what others think about this story? Contribute your thoughts to the debate below.
“I’ve been on iOS 26 since day one on my 16 Pro, and good lord, is it awful. Between the constant lag, terrible battery performance, and just constant bugs I find, I truly don’t know how Apple is getting away with releasing this,” wrote one Redditor, asking whether others also encountered the same problem.
Users of other iPhone models, such as the iPhone 15 Pro, reported similar issues.
The company has already addressed the issue of iOS 26 having an impact on iPhone batteries.
Apple explained that after users upgrade their OS, they may “notice a temporary impact on battery life and thermal performance.”
The company called it a “normal” occurrence, explaining that “your device needs time to complete the setup process in the background, including indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps.”
The original poster also updated their post by sharing that after they backed up their data on iCloud, erased and restarted the device, the smartphone was working “like a dream.”
Could iOS 26 cause iPhone 17 connectivity issues?
Despite the issues with iOS 26, some Apple users also reported problems related to the new iPhone 17 series devices.
A number of users shared that they experienced connectivity issues with new smartphones, occasionally losing WiFi connection.
While users were quick to blame their Apple Watches and HomePods, it’s not yet clear what could have caused the issue, and whether it’s related to Apple’s hardware or software.
Usually, such problems are fixed through a new software update, which Apple introduced a few days ago as iOS 26.1 beta, available for developers.
According to MacWorld, this beta version seemed to fix the connectivity problem for some users.
What’s new in iOS 26.1 beta?
Users who are registered as Apple developers can already test out the iOS 26.1 beta version.
One Redditor online has already shared possible changes in Apple's operating system.
The new changes include:
- Apple Intelligence now supports more languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Traditional Chinese, and Vietnamese
- More languages added to AirPods Live Translation feature, including Japanese, Korean, Italian, and both Traditional & Simplified Chinese
- Numbers in phone keypad styled in “Liquid Glass”
- Apple Music app now allows users to change songs by swiping left or right
- Redesigned Safari tab
- “Background Security Improvement” feature that delivers security improvements before full software updates
- Visual enhancements for the Calendar app
- Updated Photos app slider and navigation bar
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