iOS26 Photos app – have you upgraded yet?

08 Dec iOS26 Photos app – have you upgraded yet?

Each year in Spring (for us in Australia) Apple release a new version of its iOS operating system for iPhone.

Prior to Spring 2023, in iOS17, the Photos app had four tabs across the bottom: Library, For You, Albums and Search, so you could easily navigate between each.

Two years ago, with the release of iOS18, the Photos app had a complete redesign and became one continuous screen – no more tabs. When you opened the Photos app, you scrolled up for your ‘All Photos’ or ‘Library’ in chronological order and down for a long list of ‘Collections’ such as People & Pets, Albums, Recent Days, Media Types, etc.

I don’t know about you, but I really disliked the iOS18 Photos app upgrade. I hate scrolling trying to find what I am after. You could edit and reorder the list of Collections, but most people I see didn’t know they could do this and persevered with the long scroll to find their albums. The search field moved to the top right but was very small. It was a very frustrating update!

So, when iOS26 was released in September this year, I was eager to see what changes they had in stall for the Photos app (yes, they skipped iOS numbers 19-25 to bring all Apple operating systems in line with a year-based naming system). And Hallelujah, tabs are back!

When you open the Photos app, there are now three tabs across the bottom of the app: Library, Collections and Search. So much easier to navigate! Plus, you can reorder the list of collections by scrolling to the bottom of the Collections screen and hit Reorder. Then simply drag the list of collections into the order you would like them to be displayed.

One feature in Collections I would like to highlight, is under Media Types > Screenshots.

We all take screenshots: recipes, books we want to read, online shopping reminders, the list goes on! But screenshots aren’t usually images you want to keep in your Photo Collection long term: they act as a reminder for the short term and can then be deleted. Use this Collection of just Screenshots displayed together, to jump in and delete those you no longer need to keep cluttering your Photo Collection and taking up valuable storage space.

Have you upgraded your iPhone iOS to 26 yet? What are your thoughts on the Photos app redesign?