Overview

• Apple frames iOS 26 as a stability and performance release, with users and reviewers reporting faster app launches, smoother animations, and in many cases improved battery behavior.
• Feature additions include more interactive widgets and the option to create polls in Messages, which reviewers say deliver practical day‑to‑day benefits.
• Reddit feedback cites mixed battery results, occasional app glitches, and slower multitasking on older iPhones, with some advising cautious upgraders to wait for a 26.1 maintenance update.
• Practical setup tips recommend checking the App Privacy Report, enabling Optimized and Clean Energy Charging, turning on Safari’s Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection, adjusting Focus modes and haptics, and using Reduce Transparency to tone down the new blur effects.
• iPadOS 26 debuts the Liquid Glass look and replaces Split View/Slide Over with resizable app windows, drawing praise for productivity on M‑series iPads but noting a touch‑first learning curve and minor early bugs.