# Apple iOS 308 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple iOS and 841 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 3 years (40 owners). **Verdict:** Recommended for strong security, privacy and years of updates, but critics dislike the iOS 26 Liquid Glass redesign, input lag and bugs, and Apple's restrictions on apps and APIs. ## Why people recommend it - Strong security and encryption (8 comments): "I trust iOS with my banking and financial apps in a way that I would never trust Google, but I am under no illusion that any architecture can be completely secure." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49060032)) "Nobody's popped the storage encryption on iOS or MacOS devices yet AFAIK; and the fact that it's tied to a hardware secure element makes it pretty strong." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130885)) "if you are specifically after privacy and security in your personal device then GrapheneOS or post-MIE iOS will be your most sensible choices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47191786)) - Privacy protections (4 comments): "This privacy protection in conjunction with significantly better movie recording compared to Android are the two primary reasons I stay on iOS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46291468)) "if you are specifically after privacy and security in your personal device then GrapheneOS or post-MIE iOS will be your most sensible choices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47191786)) "A smartphone with GrapheneOS or iOS is far more private and secure than any traditional desktop/laptop computer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50225921)) - Long-term updates for old devices (3 comments): "The sole reason I migrated from Android to Apple was to receive security upgrades for years not months." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46278443)) "Apple has offered outstanding support for older devices in terms of iOS support for quite old devices." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46547805)) "MacOS and iOS generally (up until recently, from what I've heard) have very good uptake rates for major updates." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47035687)) - Polished, sensible interface design (6 comments): "It felt to me like it got quite close to its intention: to highlight content, and withdraw the UI only to the bare minimum to get stuff done." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272498)) "The previous version of iOS (iOS 18). I'm not sure when it started (maybe iOS 7), but that and then Android following suit was a great UI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45996843)) "I think the glass effect is eye-catching in a good way, and is much-less of a readability issue than I had expected." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45794976)) ## What people warn about - Disliked Liquid Glass redesign (4 comments): "It's NOT possible to turn LG off in iOS 26. It is possible to reduce transparency and motion (i tried with and without enabling those and it's broken anyway)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49638027)) "I definitely still notice the (inconsistent? Only occasional? Which makes it even worse) parts of my UI that now look like something from a circa 2001 Java" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46267230)) "On iOS, beautiful SFSymbol icons that floated beautifully on flat surfaces since iOS 7.0 were encased in absolutely similar circular 'liquid Glass' blobs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50189178)) - Laggy, unresponsive UI bugs (3 comments): "I have to literally tap several times on core system UI elements like navigation bar left and right buttons for the touches to register, this is Bad." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47552158)) "Now in iOS 26, you can just be typing in Notes or just the safari address bar for example, and the keyboard will randomly lag behind and freeze" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47553219)) "the later having felt slower and less responsive over time (mostly due to animation speeds/aesthetic choices rather than a hardware defect)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631181)) - Restrictive APIs and locked platform (5 comments): "There was no public API for notification stream access, scanning for specific Bluetooth devices, floating UI widgets, or even just persistent daemons." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46372664)) "I do not like that iOS doesn't allow for alternative engines but I appreciate that it's basically the only thing that even somewhat reigns Google in." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46373444)) "Instead of maintaining any sort of ABI and API stability, Apple offloads a constant burden of maintenance updates across thousands of developers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48083292)) - Pushy, confusing update prompts (4 comments): "I also find these dark patterns unacceptable and even as a technical person one needs forums to figure out why it only shows the 26.2 update very prominently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46265450)) "Apple is actively hiding 18.7.3 on most iPhones, despite the update showing on iPads. Perhaps a mistake, perhaps an attempt to force 26 onto users." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46264741)) "Things are or were labeled wrong... I clicked a button for "upgrade to iOS 27" but then follow up dialogue is talking about upgrading to 26.7." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49701803)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Android](https://hackerapproved.com/p/android.md): 372 recommend - [LineageOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lineageos.md): 186 recommend - [/e/OS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/e-os.md): 89 recommend - [Sailfish OS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sailfish-os.md): 80 recommend - [Ubuntu Touch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ubuntu-touch.md): 35 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Apple iOS", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ios/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).