I’ve been using an iPhone 13 mini for 2.5 years (my first ever iPhone). And as you’ll quickly notice, I’m not exactly on the iOS fan club list. I like it, but I’m far from a die hard supporter. I do love the work put on hardware design, though.

Truth be told, even if I’m probably missing some of its design virtues, I often find myself daydreaming about switching back to Android (I know, a true crime in the design world).

Still, I was excited to give iOS 26 a fair shot. Here’s what I genuinely liked and...what drove me really mad.

Table of Contents:

1. What I liked;

2. Least Favorites;

3. Bonus Bug and Takeaways.

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1. What I liked

❖ Battery charging time left: Finally shows how long until it’s full, no more guessing;

❖ Live translations: Working and so useful in many cases, both for calls and messages;

❖ Accessibility head tracking: Hands-free control that has potential, but I have to explore it more;

❖ Custom alarm snooze times: Getting rid of default limits it’s a great improvement for me, as someone who uses the snooze feature...quite too much!;

❖ Call screening and Message filtering: To help us with nowadays constant spam incoming calls and messages, filtering through what matters and doesn’t;

❖ Spatial wallpapers: For me, an optional amazing visual depth effect for your lock screen.

2. Least Favorites

❖ Hidden camera options: Discoverability suffers when features are tucked away. Also, users shouldn’t be required to re-learn how to use common features all over again;

❖ Different keyboards showing in apps: Even though I understand the fact that some apps might not be yet prepared to accomodate the new keyboard, it makes the system experience uneven;

❖ Inconsistent App Icons: While some appear blurry/glowy, others have some bevel-style, not aligning with the overall Liquid Glass aesthetic (dark mode also doesn’t look great);

❖ Battery drainage: It’s no surprise that battery drainage is a well-known issue but now we also have a nerve-wracking lag. But, hey, there’s an Adaptive Power option;

❖ Last but not least...the Liquid Glass design in general: Stylish but often reduces contrast and readability, specially depending on the background used. “Reduce transparency” can even worsen some UI elements.

3. Bonus Bug!

❖ Icons vanish when switching menu appearance: Clear icons seems to still be slightly buggy and switching menu appearance modes can make app icons temporarily disappear (though functionality stays intact).