iOS 26 ‘upgrade’

[stickygirl]

We've done that, and it reduces the transparency but it doesn't fix all the other changes.

Apple does this, they decide that they know what users want better than the people using it. Which would be fine if they didn't make it impossible to to turn off the changes.

I won't disagree. For one thing, there's so many damned options I kinda give up, but then the cheerful fella at MacMost often helps. ( I am not being sponsored I just like his attitude )

Out of interest I googled 'is there any reason to change from 18.7 to os26' and the ( AI... ) reply summarised with this, which is helpful and confirms the general dislike of liquid glass. Wouldn't be surprised to see Apple quietly roll that back.

Reasons to Stick with iOS 18.7 (Temporarily)

• Stability: iOS 18.7 offers a stable, bug-fixed experience without new features if you prefer simplicity.
• Performance Concerns: Some users report performance issues or dislike the "Liquid Glass" design; you can reduce transparency in Settings.

The Verdict
For most users, especially those with newer iPhones, upgrading to iOS 26 is recommended for security and new functionality, despite some initial visual adjustments. iOS 18.7 receives security updates, but eventually, all iPhones will need to move to iOS 26 for continued support.

 

[DEFCOM5]

I guess that means using you as a beta reader would be risky?

Using me for ANYTHING is risky .....

 

[MrPixel]

I'm not a tech fan or guru by any means. I still have G5 running El Cap under my desk because I refuse to rent my image processing software from those thieving c***s at Adobe - I still run Photoshop 5.5 when I can bothered to pour in some petrol and fire it up

Yeah. I have a tri-boot (Monterey, El Capitan, and Win7) 2014 mini, and like you, I keep the El Cap partition to run that last shrinkware release of Adobe Creative Suite.

I don't know if you've tried Affinity, which may or may not run on older OSes. It's good on Monterey. It's designed to fully substitute for Creative Suite, but they have their own opinions about UI in some cases. Low-cost initially with a perpetual license, but they were acquired by Canva this year as a frontend to their AI suite of graphics tools. It's now free, but you'll get nagged every once in a while about upgrades to the AI tools, which are leaseware.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Using me for ANYTHING is risky .....

Curious, though... Is it DEFCON5 or DEFCOM5?

 

[Writer61]

The hassles of getting a phone to talk to a computer are why Apple has been my preferred platform for 15+ years, and they keep improving it. 'Continuity' is a significant plus.

I do get annoyed by some of their choices, which seem to come sooner than I am ready for them, but I like the general direction of travel.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

The hassles of getting a phone to talk to a computer are why Apple has been my preferred platform for 15+ years, and they keep improving it. 'Continuity' is a significant plus.

I do get annoyed by some of their choices, which seem to come sooner than I am ready for them, but I like the general direction of travel.

I just want the modifiable task bar back from Windows 10...

 

[stickygirl]

Yeah. I have a tri-boot (Monterey, El Capitan, and Win7) 2014 mini, and like you, I keep the El Cap partition to run that last shrinkware release of Adobe Creative Suite.

I don't know if you've tried Affinity, which may or may not run on older OSes. It's good on Monterey. It's designed to fully substitute for Creative Suite, but they have their own opinions about UI in some cases. Low-cost initially with a perpetual license, but they were acquired by Canva this year as a frontend to their AI suite of graphics tools. It's now free, but you'll get nagged every once in a while about upgrades to the AI tools, which are leaseware.

You're the second person to suggest Affinity so I may have a look on my M4. I downloaded Gimp but I'm not too impressed. I hardly do any web/design work now so I'm a bit rusty.

 

[alohadave]

I just want the modifiable task bar back from Windows 10...

We were upgraded to W11 at work and I hate that I can't move the taskbar to the top of the screen. I've been doing that for 30 years.

I still miss the option to change colors on individual screen elements. I had those nailed down, then they went away.

 

[DEFCOM5]

Curious, though... Is it DEFCON5 or DEFCOM5?

DEFCON5 means all is good from a nuclear war point of view.

COM is short for communication i.e. writing

DEFCOM5 means that my writing is all good which was a joke because my writing sucks!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

DEFCON5 means all is good from a nuclear war point of view.

COM is short for communication i.e. writing

DEFCOM5 means that my writing is all good which was a joke because my writing sucks!

Ah, thanks, and I thought you were just as bad at typing as I am. Turns out you're just more clever.

 

[stickygirl]

We were upgraded to W11 at work and I hate that I can't move the taskbar to the top of the screen. I've been doing that for 30 years.

I still miss the option to change colors on individual screen elements. I had those nailed down, then they went away.

We have a piece of kit at work with two PCs - one is using W11 but the other is W7. No workarounds yet - I mean with that age gap it's like watching incest

 

[stickygirl]

 

[stickygirl]

Ha - just saw an animation on Insta with two characters discussing Liquid Glass: one is all keen to follow the mantra, while the other is making the same points as posted here
It's making it harder to read
It's using extra battery
It's making the phone worse...

not alone then. I'd give liquid glass about six months till the next update at Easter

 

[Writer61]

I'd give liquid glass about six months till the next update at Easter

IOS27 is perhaps more likely.

 

[MrPixel]

I downloaded Gimp but I'm not too impressed.

Gimp is horrible. It was written by Linux weenies with all their pretenses and a really, really weird take on UI consistency. I've been test driving Scribus on Linux, and it, too, is full of WTFs as if the developer had never seen a word processor or desktop publishing app in their sheltered lives. Font selection is so botched-up it's useless for real work.

The most recent pro piece I've done was in Affinity for a nonprofit. Once I got over the hump on a couple of features - again, UI issues - the result was outstanding.

 

[alohadave]

full of WTFs as if the developer had never seen a word processor or desktop publishing app in their sheltered lives.

Which describes so many open source apps.

I used to use a website for photo competitions for my camera club and the website was functional, and did everything it needed to do, the interface was obviously designed by an engineer, not a UI or design person. Even better, the only instruction was short videos linked on each page, so you had to watch one to find out how to do anything.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Which describes so many open source apps.

I used to use a website for photo competitions for my camera club and the website was functional, and did everything it needed to do, the interface was obviously designed by an engineer, not a UI or design person. Even better, the only instruction was short videos linked on each page, so you had to watch one to find out how to do anything.

100% I appreciate YouTube, but come on, give me a step by step list of numbered instructions I can READ and refer back to real-time. I don't want to watch a homemade video to figure out how something is supposed to work.

 

[jsmiam]

The photos app is a huge shock at first, seemingly no easy way to just show all photos. There’s a counter-intuitive half hidden (think how shady websites treat cancelling membership, except apparently every website everywhere is shady) to restore all-photos view. So that’s a bad first impression. My phone is old, so less forced AI than a new phone so I can’t comment on that. I’ll deal with the rest.

We will see if there’s a way to block a txt sender without opening the message at all (“without” is bolded, italicized, colored, and underlined, btw. I’m just sayin. In advance.) Probably won’t be.

I like gimp. You get used to it. But do any graphics manipulation at all nowadays, people just assume you used AI. Irritating!

 

[MrPixel]

I hate it when searches for a "how to" barfs out nothing but YT vids. Too many have 8-10 minutes of self-aggrandizing lead-in and advertiser content when the actual solution is simply knowing which menu and submenu have the setting(s) I'm looking for. I rarely click on YT "helps" any more these days because they are wastes of my time aside from giving YT opportunities to tempt me down rabbit holes.

I've learned to reduce the distraction factor that comes with YT by only searching through DuckDuckGo browser. By always clearing the breadcrumb trail YT leaves, it doesn't know what to serve-up other than the monetized dreck they're pushing. No thanks. Next.

 

[stickygirl]

I read the other day that if you use a VPN set in Albania then YT can't run ads... maybe I'll try it but I'm nervous of a gang of hooded men turning up and selling me on as a sex mule.
I'll maybe have a look at Affinity, thanks.

The options for screening Spam callers etcs is a huge relief on Apple. Not sure when it came in but if an unknown caller dials they get a message asking them why they're calling, which I get to hear before I decide if I want to pickup. Plus all the blocked number options.

 

[onehitwanda]

I just want the modifiable task bar back from Windows 10...

I have vitriolically rejected every attempt to upgrade my Skyrim laptop from Win 10 to Win 11. Every so often they nag me, I respond in tongues, they fuck off again. I hate windows 10, but I hate windows 11 much, much more.

 

[jsmiam]

I hate it when searches for a "how to" barfs out nothing but YT vids. Too many have 8-10 minutes of self-aggrandizing lead-in and advertiser content when the actual solution is simply knowing which menu and submenu have the setting(s) I'm looking for. I rarely click on YT "helps" any more these days because they are wastes of my time aside from giving YT opportunities to tempt me down rabbit holes.

I've learned to reduce the distraction factor that comes with YT by only searching through DuckDuckGo browser. By always clearing the breadcrumb trail YT leaves, it doesn't know what to serve-up other than the monetized dreck they're pushing. No thanks. Next.

I’m a big DuckDuckGo fan. The search engine, the browser, all of it (even though it provides AI summaries, but to their credit they include citations)

I find YouTube videos helpful for fixing physical things. Computer issues not so much.

I waver between whether AI is the end of employment as we know it, or that it’s picked the low hanging fruit and will not progress much beyond what it’s done so far. Easy stuff made easier and arguably more accessible, and hard stuff exposes its superficiality.

 

[onehitwanda]

DuckDuckGo and Kagi are worth looking at; Kagi is pay-to-use but I hear very very good reviews about it.

Google is now nothing but a firehose of irrelevance.

 

[Writer61]

I’m a big DuckDuckGo fan. The search engine, the browser, all of it (even though it provides AI summaries, but to their credit they include citations)

I use:

• DuckDuckGo for my, um, private browsing (including here)
• Safari for other personal use
• Chrome for when I need it for clients

The latter two have the advantage of working with 1Password, my password manager of choice for years.
Although the new Apple Passwords app is not bad, it is only for Safari.

 

[SugarStorm]

Google is now nothing but a firehose of irrelevance.

I honestly find it genuinly sad, actually.

Although the new Apple Passwords app is not bad, it is only for Safari.

Chrome can access passwords stored in the iCloud Keychain, at least on Mac OS. Not sure about iOS.