Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3<p><strong>Things Apple Won’t Fix In The Next Round of OS 26 Updates</strong></p><p>Apple is announcing new iPhones, Apple Watches and possibly other things today. They’ll also announce the release date for the operating systems for all of those new devices and previous generations already in use. All of the focus is going to be on everything new, improved, changed and Liquid Glassed.</p><p></p><p>I’m sure I’ll write about some of that down the road. For today I’m writing about the things I’m thinking Apple won’t address in any of the new operating systems. These are lingering issues that in some cases have not been corrected over the life of multiple operating systems. As much as I get excited about a new software release I remain frustrated year after year when Apple steps forward while dragging its feet on correcting existing problems.</p><p>Believe me, I get that Apple has created such a large ecosystem that it is impossible to pay attention to every detail and correct every mistake. I get it, but I don’t sympathize with it. Introducing new operating systems pumped out on what seems like an impossible to meet annual cycle creates other issues that need to be addressed and it is apparently too easy to just let the older ones go unattended. And from what I’ve seen from developers I follow, there are going to be a host of new issues that are going to need to be resolved over the next year. Or longer. The longer you let an existing issue hang around without attention, the more the “control the whole widget” promises seem not quite in control.</p><p>Certainly it’s a question of priorities. How the priorities are set makes me question the priorities of those that set them.</p><p>Some of these issues I’ve highlighted before, others I have not. Here are a few that continue my questioning of Apple’s priorities. I’m sure there are some that others experience that fall into the same category of hoping Apple pays attention to them someday.</p><p><strong>Syncing</strong></p><p>I’ve seen a decrease in syncing issues with iCloud in general. That’s a good thing. But Apple still insists on syncing Photos on its own schedule. Whether it’s battery life optimization or system optimization the delay is never optimized for the user experience.</p><p><strong>Shared Reminder Notifications</strong></p><p>I’ve written about this <a href="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/03/25/shared-apple-reminders-that-never-disappear/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">before</a>. The fact that this one hasn’t been corrected since Shared Reminders became a thing undercuts all of the very good work Apple has done with the Reminders app in general.</p><p><strong>Bluetooth Weirdness</strong></p><p>I don’t know how else to describe this other than it’s just weird. There are times when Bluetooth connectivity works as designed with my AirPods and other peripherals. There are times when things just go bonkers especially with AirPods. Things will work as designed for days on end, then they won’t. AirPods switch between devices as designed, but then stop doing so. Adaptive Listening will work well sometimes and sometimes not. Connectivity with my car works well and then it doesn’t. My car isn’t smart by any stretch of the imagination and gets no software updates so it makes sense to me that it’s a Bluetooth issue on the iPhone. Note that it happens at random times unrelated to iOS updates or those mysterious AirPod firmware updates. The Magic Trackpad works 98% of the time. Then not. It’s weird.</p><p><strong>Shortcuts</strong></p><p>It’s become either a legend or a joke that every time Apple releases a new update (full release or point release) something goes wrong with Shortcuts. Either way it’s a problem for “the future of automation.” I particularly love it when a Shortcut just hangs with no indication that there’s a problem after working well for days on end. This inconsistent problem is consistent.</p><p><strong>The App Store</strong></p><p>Apple’s biggest retail outlet is the slowest loading and buggiest piece of software it has ever designed. It’s also designed abysmally.</p><p><strong>Focus Modes</strong></p><p>I use very few Focus Modes. I do not share them between devices. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. I’ve never set a Sleep Focus on my iMac. Yet one mysteriously appears at random during the day about twice a month. The Focus I’ve set for listening to Podcasts inconsistently fails to kick in.</p><p><strong>Mail Rules</strong></p><p>I think Apple has just given up on Mail Rules because the ones I’ve built just don’t work anymore.</p><p><strong>Apple News</strong></p><p>I enjoy that on my Mac I can choose to open an article in Safari or that I can open a webpage in Apple News. I don’t understand why that can’t happen on the iPhone.</p><p><strong>Notification Summaries</strong></p><p>I long ago turned Notification Summaries off because they were just confusing and caused more work than just dealing with the Notification. I recently turned them back on to check and see if there had been any improvement. There has not.</p><p>As I said, I don’t anticipate Apple fixing any of the above with all of the new ’26 releases. I’ve learned to work around them the same way I work around the passenger side backdoor on my car won’t open from the inside and I have to open it from the outside whenever I’ve got a back seat passenger. It’s a walk around workaround. It’s not ideal. And each time I have to do it I’m reminded just how imperfect things are and can be. I’m sure it will diminish the value of the car when I do decide to trade it in, but it’s already reduced the value of it in my mind.</p><p>I feel the same way when Apple doesn’t address longstanding issues that I and others have brought to their attention. Here’s hoping Apple addresses some of these issues. Here’s hunching they won’t.</p><p><em>You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at <a href="https://medium.com/@WarnerCrocker" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">this link</a>, including in the publications <a href="https://medium.com/ellemeno" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Ellemeno</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/rome-magazine" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Rome.</a></em> <em>I can also be found on social media under my name as above. </em></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/apple/" target="_blank">#Apple</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/apple-news/" target="_blank">#AppleNews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/apple-watch/" target="_blank">#AppleWatch</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/bugs/" target="_blank">#Bugs</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/ios26/" target="_blank">#iOS26</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/ipad/" target="_blank">#iPad</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/ipados26/" target="_blank">#iPadOS26</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/iphone/" target="_blank">#iPhone</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/mac/" target="_blank">#Mac</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/tech/" target="_blank">#Tech</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/technology/" target="_blank">#technology</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/watchos26/" target="_blank">#watchOS26</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/writing/" target="_blank">#Writing</a></p>