How to prevent iphone updating to IOS 26?

iOS 26 is in beta, so sure, you read about issues, which is the entire point of beta software. It won't be released for several weeks, but when it is released, it will as we've come to expect, be stable when it is officially released. Until then, there's nothing to avoid or be worried about. There is no way for you to get iOS 26, unless you purposely signed up to be a beta tester.

You can prevent your iPhone from updating to a specific version by going to Settings > General > Software Update and turning off the automatic updates option. Just keep an eye out for any changes in the settings to ensure you don't accidentally update to IOS 26.

iOS 26 hasn’t even been released yet, and you’re doing yourself a good favor by not updating to the current Beta. You will find that all the reviews currently are only on Beta, which has a myriad of issues present, such as banking apps not working. This is normal for Beta software and they are always fixed before release. When it’s released in the fall, you’ll likely find it’s much more smoother and should be updatable.

To the extent that those are Apple Intelligence features, you will not be getting them on your iPhone 12 even if you install the production version of iOS 26 when it is ready.

That's because discussing the beta is prohibited.

The reviewers posting about it are technically in violation of the NDA they accepted when joining the beta program.

Any reviews based on early beta versions are pretty much worthless. It's nowhere near ready for prime time yet, full of bugs, and not feature complete. Betas are meant for early testing, not actual use.

We all have features that we don’t use often or dislike, but I’m sure there are more other features you will want to use. In addition you’ll have the security vulnerability patches, so updating would be much wiser.

ScreenLono wrote:

I sure don't need this:

Apple’s

Visual Intelligence tool, meanwhile, now does more than just tell you

about what’s in front of your camera. Taking a screenshot now opens a

full-screen preview where you can ask ChatGPT about what’s in the image,

search Google for items in specific parts of the image, or wait for

Apple Intelligence to make suggestions — like adding event dates to your

calendar.

Pro tip: If

you’re like me and you take tons of screenshots to remember things, you

can turn off this full-screen preview by going to Settings → General →

Screen Capture.

I'm sure you're correct that I don't need what you posted. But what does what you posted have to do with iOS 26, which will be coming in the fall? That is, after all, the topic of this thread. There are and always will be features in iOS, which users don't have to use if they don't want to use them.

Visual Intelligence is a current feature, which will possibly get an upgrade. I hardly think that is a reason to avoid the updated iOS when it is released.

No worries. Yes it will take some getting used to, major software updates are typically every 10 years with iOS 7 as the last major one. But I’m sure after a bit you’ll be off and running in no time.