ZDNET’s key takeaways
- iOS 26 introduces a new gesture behavior to the iPhone camera switcher.
- This shift in app navigation has caused frustration among pros and casual users.
- On the latest dev beta, Apple has added a toggle to revert the behavior to the original.
While many would say that the public development of iOS 26 has been rocky, one recent feature, introduced in the latest developer beta, has given me renewed faith in Apple.
When the company first launched the iOS 26 beta, most people were drawn to the polarizing Liquid Glass design language. The revamped camera app UI came in second, but something was clearly off about it: Navigating the various camera modes was needlessly changed.
Also: Five iOS 26 features I already can’t live without – and how to access them
Camera buffs noticed it immediately, followed by regular consumers, including myself — muscle memory will do that to you. When gliding left or right, the different modes would pan in the same direction.
Why it’s a problem
This is a departure — a complete 180, if you will — from Apple’s traditional interface physics, where widgets, text, and other elements would move counter-directionally, as if you were dragging them away. This has been the case since the early versions of iOS, whether you were scrolling through a web page or a carousel.
Also: Update to iOS 26? We tested the public beta on our iPhones – these features are a big deal
Beyond going against your instincts, this gesture change introduces the problem of blocking pertinent information on the screen. As you’re scrolling between camera modes, your finger naturally covers where and what you’re scrolling to. You can see things in motion below.
The fix
In response to this issue, Apple has added a new setting for the camera app that allows you to revert the scroll direction to how it was in iOS 18. This is only accessible in the latest developer beta, and can be found at the bottom of the Camera settings page under Mode Switching.
Also: Best iPhone 2025: I tested the top models and found the best options for you
With it toggled on, scrolling between camera modes will feel like how it’s supposed to.
Should Apple want to make the software transition period less disruptive for users, especially once new iPhones launch in September, it would be even wiser to set the original gesture behavior as the default and allow users to toggle it off instead. Hopefully that’s not asking for too much.
Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.
