Move iPhone search bar to top after iOS 26 update

vdogg78 wrote:

Good for you. But many of us like it better at the top all the time. Our eyes are used to looking there, so it takes longer and feels unintuitive to find it at the bottom, especially with the barely-there low contrast of Liquid Glass. It’s an arbitrary change that users should have control over

OK. What do you hope by arguing what you like with only another user here? No one from Apple participates here, nor reads here for user feedback. So posting what you liked before but has been changed here is pointless. Feel free to share your thoughts with Apple here, where it will actually be read by someone at Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Ps: You assert users should have control over iOS? We don't own iOS. Apple owns iOS. We merely have a license to use iOS and Apple can put anything they want, where they want it. If you are mega-rich, buy Apple and then you can choose what features users can have control over. It's no different with Android or Windows or any other Operating System.

LD150 wrote:

Elliot_Bojko wrote:

Not quite true. While it is for windows and android, it’s not for all OS’s. Linux allows you to customise and control every aspect, if you want. It lets YOU have control, because it wants YOU use YOUR device the way YOU want.

Linux "lets you have control" like driving a waggon with 8 horses through a shopping mall herding cats. You spend all your time making the machine work and get no actual work done.

Went there for several years, gave up and got a Mac.

Can you imagine the disaster this forum would become if users could change everything on an iPhone? It would be flooded with people who made changes, but had no clue how they made changes and expect us to figure out what they did. I shudder at the thought.

Starfish130 wrote:

I HATE this … you took away the home button so the home access is at the bottom and now this is at the bottom too!? At least give the option to change it.

No one participating in this forum took away anything from you. And no one here can give you back what you want.

Tell Apple what you'd like to see:

Product Feedback - Apple

DocRn wrote:

I’m 56 and disabled. My daughter is 23 and fully functional with no disabilities, she’s in college full time and working part time. We both hate the new version. I especially need the old way back or the option to use the old way.

We agree with you 100%

Telling anyone here on this user to user only forum you don't like something won't get you anything. Tell Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I hate this too and I told Apple. Everyone else who wants to have the option to switch search bar to the top should do the same. Feedback - iPhone - Apple

It makes no sense that one can switch the search bar to the top for safari and chrome but not in iMessages and elsewhere in iOS 26.

It is one thing to remove things like the audio jack and the Home button —I was not happy about that but I get there isn’t much customization possible. but there is absolutely no reason that half of iPhone users should have to change behavior for such an easily customizable feature. Not to mention laptop/desktop search is almost always at the top.

maybe that the whole point. they want to remind us at every moment that we’re using an iPhone even if we’re irritated doing it.

The problem is that some apps have it at the top, others at the bottom above keyboard, others at the very bottom. Even Apple apps are not consistent. So, now, we spend half the time looking around the screen for the search function. Nevermind Mail on iPad now moves search to the top left, floating illogically above messages instead of at the top of the email list where it used to be.

And, yes, I have sent a feature request to Apple, so the annoying participants in Apple discussions can move on and not waste their time telling me this forum doesn’t get read my Apple.

vincenzo_3 wrote:

Nice thought. Poor argument. iOS is based on Linux, as have all Apple OS’s for a couple of decades now. So is Android for that matter. Most OS kernels these days…

Also, if you actually knew how iOS renders these components, you’d know it’s not tricky or difficult. It’s literally just a coordinate calculation for the location of the search bar element and the GUI backend knows how to render everything and move things. This is even more true with the way Liquid Glass is architected.

Tell Apple what you'd like to see here:

Product Feedback - Apple

What anyone here thinks about how something is "architected" really doesn't matter. What matters is what Apple thinks. Only they can make a change.

I run 3 software businesses and if I were to make a change like moving search bar, I would certainly make it an option to change it back even if we were passionate it should move. but not to give the option to move it back to the top is mind blowing. When you have a huge community of pre-existing users using your software and you decide to improve it, you have to make things optional even if you decide that this is the way you wanted it to be for all your new users. Please can you follow this suit for all other upgrades? This ensures you have very Happy users who will keep using Software and not move to other platforms

Pacmanrules wrote:

I'm new to this forum (based on my points alone), but not to apple products. I am unsure who you are except you participate a lot and have lots of points and a high level (or highest). I'm guessing you have some connection to apple but if not could you explain your role? I am being objective as I build software for both mobile devices and desktops. I am not just complaining because I don't like it, which I don't, I am complaining because I am a user, regardless if I am 1 of 30,000,000,000 users, and for Steve jobs, this was important. I understand that software must evolve but where there are borderline cases and the functionality has been used for a long period of time, it should be implemented as an option, and by default could be automatically changed for all users but should have the capability of switching boarder line functionality back to how it used to work. When you have a user interface that simply works, don't change it just because the upgrade department has to prove their existence being pushed by the marketing department. The size of my business is irrelevant, I'm not disputing that Apple is not successful as they are clearly a global player. With new functionality you can play around with it without too much harm but if it core UI, you should make it optional, full-stop. In this case its not just about apple moving its location, its more than that. If you notice carefully there is a subtle but annoying difference apart from location. The old location was at the top, and the search bar was not ON-TOP of other text, now its at the bottom , its ON-TOP of text (in MAIL app), and my eye reads whats left, right, and behind it. It puts me off when I am typing. The previous search bar had no clutter behind it. This is my take it on, regardless if i run an inferior shop. If any apple people read this please make those type of borderline important GUI changes optional. I have already posted this to apple via the link you highlighted.

No posters on this user to user only forum have any connection to Apple. We are ALL users, just like you. But some of us have been on this forum for years, as regular posters like IdrisSeabright, enjoy helping people. Like I enjoy helping people. While you are welcome to take the time to share your thoughts here, they aren't thoughts which will be read by anyone at Apple.

If you want Apple to hear you, this is how you can share them here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Pacmanrules wrote:

I am complaining because I am a user, regardless if I am 1 of 30,000,000,000 users, and for Steve jobs, this was important... If any apple people read this please make those type of borderline important GUI changes optional. I have already posted this to apple via the link you highlighted.

Nope, none of us are Apple employees and for Apple to read your input, then you did the right thing by sending them Feedback directly. That is where your voice will be heard and has also worked in the past with the changes found in iOS 26.1. We cannot comment on the changes found in iOS 26.2 because it is still in beta, but you may have to wait and see if you find that helpful.

The points or being new to this support site is irrelevant when it comes to your views you want to express to Apple through the feedback link. The only relevance of the points is that it means they have helped other posters resolve an issue and others had also found it helpful by upvoting the post. It really means nothing more than that. I user with more points does not have any more influence on the Feedback sent to Apple, and it also does not mean they have any special or direct contacts with Apple.

I do find it odd when people bring up Steve Jobs when making some kind of claim that this would never happen under his leadership. You may not remember his famous quote that seems to apply to what you are saying. It was also just a year ago that iOS 18 was released and you can go back on this Support Site and find the same posts where people hated it and can't believe there were changes, and now, that is the one they liked the most. In fact, that is pretty typical of every update.

“Some people say, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, 'A faster horse!'" People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.”

--Steve Jobs

Buttertart wrote:

its very simple: you scroll from the bottom up. Having the bar at the bottom is too close to the start of a scroll. The natural progression and clear separation of the two highly used tasks is to have the bar at the top.

Telling only other users what you believe is natural, gets you nothing here. This is a user to user only forum.

Feel to tell Apple what you think is natural here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

mlasaga wrote:

You clearly do not have arthritis! On the bottom is much harder because you have to bend the fingers and thumbs. Anyway, what does that matter? Why not provide some flexibility for users to do what is comfortable or preferable for them?

Hello~ I am sure if *LD150* one of our learned volunteers could provide “flexibility” here in these forums…there would be quite a few changes. Until then…please use the feedback link that *lobsterghost1* has so graciously provided for you.

~Katana-San~

mlasaga wrote:

You clearly do not have arthritis! On the bottom is much harder because you have to bend the fingers and thumbs. Anyway, what does that matter? Why not provide some flexibility for users to do what is comfortable or preferable for them?

Which is exactly why the Feedback link has been posted for that to be used to let Apple know how you feel. Otherwise you are just stating what you like and others are saying what they like and accomplishes absolutely nothing.

kieonna wrote:

For starters, the search bar is almost transparent on most of the apps and functions. This greatly affects someone with vision impairment.

Now to address the finger issue, my thumbs are hovering at the bottom a

pf my phone. Every time I personally go for the search bar I’m expecting it at the top because that’s where it’s been for YEARS! Now it’s transparent, blends in and oh UNDER MY THUMBS so I don’t see it until I get aggravated and flip my thumbs up

in the “raised armed”equivalent.

This is a user to user only forum. Tell Apple --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Pacmanrules wrote:

Your response is unhelpful. The whole point we are discussing this here is to demonstrate to the apple staff how their customers feel and give some useful feedback what they could develop moving forward to allow their product to move forward (evolve) with as little upset to their customers. If apple DO NOT look at this forum then I would say that's a big mistake, and they should (Im absolutely sure they do). With your influence maybe you could get them to invest some time on reading some of our posts. I think we all know the apple owns it, that's not the debate, we know that Steve Jobs would have still cared about the users feelings as Apple evolves the product. Without customers apple would not exist, its a 2 way relationship. We love apple, Steve Jobs, and want to continue to, which is why we waste our time in the middle of the night writing these posts, we are giving free of charge consultancy!

Apple isn't here on this forum. The people at Apple you hope to get attention from, do NOT participate on this forum. They don't read the posts on this forum. So whether you found my response helpful or not doesn't matter. You aren't writing ANYONE from Apple here. Just other users, none of whom moved the search bar, and none of whom can put it back where you want. Hence why you were provided a feedback link to let Apple know what you want.

Steve Jobs? You mean the Steve Jobs who famously said the following:

"Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me a faster horse.' People don't know what they want until you show it to them." 

It's amusing how many people don't have a clue that Mr. Jobs didn't care what you want.

You are of course welcome to post here. But you can post 1000 times your dislike of where Apple chose to put the search bar and it won't make any difference.