Study finds why people aren't upgrading to iOS 26

According to a new survey conducted by SellCell on 2,000 US-based adult iPhone users this month, 22% haven't upgraded to iOS 26 yet, despite it being available since September. The main reason is not knowing about it, followed by thinking the iPhone would update automatically. Battery life getting worse is also a reason, followed by people simply not wanting the new Liquid Glass design. People are also concerned about their iPhone getting slower after the update.

61% of users don't update right away, most of them waiting a bit to see if there are any huge issues reported. There are also people who think the update will be performed automatically, and others who only update when they're forced to.

Interestingly, only 28% of those surveyed claimed nothing put them off iOS 26, which means 72% have at least one concern about it. The leading one is worrying about battery life getting worse, followed by the phone getting slower. These aren't unwarranted concerns given Apple's track record over the years. Next up is a dislike of the Liquid Glass UI's look or readability, followed by a concern that once updated it's hard or impossible to go back.

So, while iOS 26 does hold a big stake in the overall distribution of versions, some people are still concerned about the update messing with battery life and performance, while others simply dislike the new Liquid Glass UI enough to put off upgrading.

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