I Was Worried About iOS 26 Performance—Turns Out I Didn't Need to Be
I've seen a lot of people saying that iOS 26 hurts iPhone performance. I only updated because I'm getting my battery replaced, and the service center asked me to install the latest version of iOS so they could run the proper diagnostics.
So far, my phone feels just as fast as before—if anything, it actually feels a bit smoother. I can't really judge the battery life yet because my current battery is worn out and already due for replacement. I'll be able to give a fair opinion after the new battery is installed.
As for performance, animations, and overall smoothness, everything works perfectly fine.
The only thing I don't like is the new design. To me, it looks kind of cheap. You can switch to the frosted/matte effect, but then you lose the transparency, which I actually like on the Lock Screen.
If you're worried that updating to iOS 26 will make your phone slower, that hasn't been my experience at all.