AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
There's been a lot of grumbling among iPhone users lately that iOS 26 is just not popular. IOS 26 introduced a stylistic switch, but many users say it's buggy, laggy and battery-hungry. It's making many hold off on updating their phones as long as possible. Patrick Holland is a phone reviewer and managing editor with the digital media publication CNet. Welcome to the program.
PATRICK HOLLAND: Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: So, you know, I have to say, I updated to IOS 26, and it don't seem too bad to me, but I guess people are upset about it or some people are upset about it. What's the main complaint?
HOLLAND: I think the two things we hear a lot is there are more changes to this. This is probably Apple's biggest visual change to iPhone software in a long time. And I think that's part of it. And I think the other part of it is the new features that you get. Some of them just change the way you do things. Like, if you do a screenshot, now there's, like, this new window that you have to interact with, and it gives you new options to do things like use Apple intelligence to scan what your screenshot is. But some people just like the old screenshot, which, by the way, you can just change the settings and go back to. But there are little things like that that I think are tripping people up. And then there's also just I think the time we live in and everything else going on, what better way to take out some frustrations than on iPhone software updates?
RASCOE: What about this liquid glass? 'Cause there's, like - this is, like, the new interface, and it's where the time and the apps all kind of look like they're kind of floating or transparent. How is that impeding the way people are using the phones now?
HOLLAND: Absolutely. I think liquid glass is probably the biggest complaint I'm hearing. What they basically did is Apple made things look more translucent, more transparent and it gave it kind of more of a lighter, bouncier feel. When they rolled this out at their developer conference as a preview back in June of 2025, social media kind of went to town on it, right? No one really had it on their phones yet, but people were describing how it's the worst thing ever. Apple's, like, lost their way, all these things. I don't want to minimize that for some people, that transparency could be hard, like, could be difficult to interact with or see, but there are, like, accessibility settings that can handle it. But largely what I hear is this liquid glass design is what most people are afraid of and they don't want to upgrade.
RASCOE: And then there's also talk about battery drain. Is that an issue with this? Why is that happening?
HOLLAND: Yeah. I'd say two things. One, like, anytime you have an update, when you actually do the actual download of the software, it takes a little while, and while it uses that energy to download the software update, yeah, it's going use more battery life to do that. But the software itself, we're not seeing any differences in battery life on a regular basis once it's been installed on phones, downloading a major software update. It's going to put some strain on your battery, but eventually it actually might actually help improve things.
RASCOE: The last time there was a major visual overhaul to the iPhone was in 2013 with iOS 7, and users said at the time that that felt jarring too. How does 26 - iOS 26 compare?
HOLLAND: OK. Well, full disclosure. I used to work at an Apple store, and I was working at one in 2013. And yeah, we - it definitely, I would say, when that version of iOS came out, the backlash was huge, and it was a very big visual overhaul. IOS 26 I don't think is as radical an overhaul. I do think there's really big reasons that people should upgrade their phones to the newest software. The biggest reason is security. I mean, the number of apps people have - banking, personal information - you want that secure. So even if you don't like liquid glass, there's ways to minimize it or parts of it where you can just completely turn it off. And I think you'll get over that.
RASCOE: Why does it matter to Apple that users are complaining? Does it matter that much to them?
HOLLAND: I think it matters a lot. So even though they're not talking publicly about it, they're definitely hearing the noise. They hear reports, they read stories that we write in other publications about the software and what it's like to use. And they really do take those things to heart. The iPhone, well, any phone, really, is one of the most personal pieces of technology that anyone has. And so if there's any change, no matter how big or small on it, it's definitely going to affect people in different ways. So I think there is the fact that your apps will still be all in the same place. You'll be able to access Instagram and TikTok and do FaceTime calls. But, yeah, maybe the visual language looks a little bit different, and there might be more tweaks. But I do think that what I've seen is - with software changes on iOS or Android, that people do get used to those changes, or they accept them. And there'll be a whole generation that this is the iPhone that they're really used to, and when the next big change comes, it'll be jarring. And I think it's more about the change, really, than anything.
RASCOE: That's Patrick Holland. He's a phone reviewer and managing editor with the digital media publication CNet. Thank you so much for joining us.
HOLLAND: Absolutely. Thank you for having me.
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