The hashtag ‘iOS26 Ugly’ was microblogging app Weibo’s top-trending topic on Tuesday, as thousands of netizens expressed their discontent

For the very first time, the new design extends across Apple’s different operating systems – iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26 – which have been rebranded to mark the coming year, rather than a version number.

“This new system looks less beautiful than before,” Yan said. “I have always updated to the latest iOS on my phone, but I will stay with my current version of iOS this time.”