In iOS 26 beta 1, Apple has seemingly tweaked the swipe-to-go-back gesture to make it easier to navigate screens on bigger iPhones.
In iOS 18, many apps allow you to navigate back to the previous screen by swiping with your thumb from the left edge of the display. This is generally easier than tapping a back button in the top-left corner, especially if you're navigating with one hand.
However, to trigger the gesture, you need to start swiping from the very edge of the screen, which is harder if you have small hands or you're using a larger device like an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
To make things easier in iOS 26, you no longer have to start the rightward swipe at the very edge of the screen. Now you can start the gesture from anywhere, like the middle of the display. Providing you're not thumbing an interactive UI element, the swipe-to-go-back gesture will still be triggered.
Currently the gesture works in many system apps including Settings, Contacts, Music, and the App Store. It also seems to work in some third-party apps, although support is likely to expand once developers update their apps in time for the release of iOS 26 in the fall.
Apple today provided public beta testers with the second betas of iOS 26.6, iPadOS 26.6, macOS Tahoe 26.6, watchOS 26.6, and tvOS 26.6, with the software coming a day after Apple seeded the betas to developers and three weeks after the first public betas.
After signing up to beta test the software updates on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the new software using the...
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 26.6 and iPadOS 26.6 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming three weeks after Apple seeded the first betas.
Registered developers can download the betas from the Settings app on the iPhone or iPad by going to the General section and selecting Software Update.
With iOS 27 set to launch in September, Apple is...
Apple has shared updated iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 adoption figures, revealing how many iPhones and iPads were running those software versions on the day before the start of WWDC 2026 and the release of the first iOS 27 developer beta.
These adoption numbers are based on iPhones and iPads that transacted on the App Store on Sunday, June 7, according to Apple.
The statistics are as follows:86%...
I sure hope this isn't as easy to trigger accidentally when trying to scroll and just wiggling a bit as on some apps that already implement this themselves.
Why is the back button on the top of the screen anyway? Seems like this is a solution to a problem that Apple created. Just move navigation buttons to the bottom of the screen so everything is easy to reach with your thumb.
This WWDC was the lamest, most boring one I've ever seen. And I've been watching since Jobs returned to run Apple. All I saw were tweaks to existing apps. Tweaking Back gesture? This is what's going to get people to buy a new phone? I might, but unless there's some real innovation, it might not be an Apple phone.
Apple used to lead. Now all they do is play catch up with Android.
Implementing the current swipe back API should be a specific requirement for all apps with a back button in the top left corner. Not sure if this new one will be easy to accidentally trigger though.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
