[IAmGraydon]

I'm on an iPhone 16 Pro. iOS 26 is not an improvement, I'll put it that way. What's happened here is obvious - they had honed iOS down to a very good OS - perhaps as good as can be or very close to it. The problem arises when they have to show shareholders that they're still "innovating", so they change something just to change it. That's what the new glass interface is. To me, it's a more modern take on something from 20 years ago, which was touted as revolutionary when it became part of Windows Vista. This time, they've just added warping/refraction effects, which have become possible due to more powerful processors. It's distracting, though, and they've removed any option to turn it off. It also just looks instantly dated, IMO.

Beyond that, I've experienced some hangs here and there, and particularly when using Safari. The interface in general also seems less snappy.

I think we've just seen Apple peak. This is not the kind of move a thriving company makes, and runs completely counter to Steve Jobs' ethos, just as is Tim Cook's bowing to an authoritarian regime. They certainly aren't what they once were, and its only a matter of time before the inertia they gained over the last 20 years finally runs out and they begin to plummet.