Move iPhone search bar to top after iOS 26 update

It is not a matter at all if top or bottom is better as everyone has a different, but nevertheless valid, opinion. It is very much a matter that its location at the top was the location from the beginning and I do not recollect seeing anyone ever complain about this. In other words, it wasn't broken but was certainly fixed. The issue is for many, certainly including me, after all these years with it at the top, it has now become very awkward and annoying to use and I am not at all getting used to it (as if there was some overwhelming reason to change it and need to get used to it). I believe the smart thing for Apple to have done, assuming they saw a compelling reason to change it, was to provide an option so the all important customer/user can put it where it is best for each. I have similar thoughts about the so called Liquid Glass. It just completely eludes any logic I am able to conjure up (except possibly a marketing driven change for the sake of change thing) why the crisp easy and comfortable to read text, lines, etc. now are now wiggly and see through. Why continually strive for display technology with greater resolution when you intentionally blur the text and graphics? I am seriously hoping Apple provides an option in a very near future update to return the text to it what it was previously. These two changes have negatively impacted my experience using our phones/iPads well beyond anything I would have previously guessed and that is not at all getting better with time, especially the blurry see through text.

I’m part of the disabled community and I have to hold my phone in the palm of my hands and my thumbs don’t work. So to move the phone down to access the search bar, etc will inevitably my phone will fall out of my hands. And I assume the ppl who don’t have a issue with these changes are probably much younger and can adapt to changes that seem simple and not a big deal…and the rest of us who are probably in the older generation (me 61) I never thought age would matter when I’ve been doing things for many years, but our reaction and movement is much slower and gets slower by the day. Idk if the younger generation have ever heard this phrase before ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’

I also HATE HATE HATE this glass effect. I want the old way back.

id also like to know how and why my passcode now requires 6 digit when it’s been 4 digit. I can only get into my watch by opening my phone. I hope Apple comes out with an update to fix these issues!

lexigirl08 wrote:

I’m part of the disabled community and I have to hold my phone in the palm of my hands and my thumbs don’t work. So to move the phone down to access the search bar, etc will inevitably my phone will fall out of my hands. And I assume the ppl who don’t have a issue with these changes are probably much younger and can adapt to changes that seem simple and not a big deal…and the rest of us who are probably in the older generation (me 61) I never thought age would matter when I’ve been doing things for many years, but our reaction and movement is much slower and gets slower by the day. Idk if the younger generation have ever heard this phrase before ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’

I also HATE HATE HATE this glass effect. I want the old way back.

id also like to know how and why my passcode now requires 6 digit when it’s been 4 digit. I can only get into my watch by opening my phone. I hope Apple comes out with an update to fix these issues!

I'm even older than lobsterghost1 with arthritic fingers. Half of the regulars here are over 70 and we do testing of new features.

Anyhow with the search bar at the bottom it should be easier, surely? In any case you move the phone up not down to reach the bottom?

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%

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%

Since we're sharing... I'm 63, am prone to migraines and wear reading glasses and I really like it.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

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%

Since we're sharing... I'm 63, am prone to migraines and wear reading glasses and I really like it.

You're just a kid! 63? Puhleeze!!

lobsterghost1 wrote:

IdrisSeabright wrote:

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%

Since we're sharing... I'm 63, am prone to migraines and wear reading glasses and I really like it.

You're just a kid! 63? Puhleeze!!

Just a young whippersnapper, that's me!

IdrisSeabright wrote:

lobsterghost1 wrote:

IdrisSeabright wrote:

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%

Since we're sharing... I'm 63, am prone to migraines and wear reading glasses and I really like it.

You're just a kid! 63? Puhleeze!!

Just a young whippersnapper, that's me!

Yes Indeed, you are!

I agree-I would love the search bar at the top in mail and messages. I am really missing the at glance view at the bottom that is covered by the search bar. Moving back to the top to search is easy by tapping the top of the screen. Not a big deal since it is much more rare to search than see my at glance and appropriate view.

Tapping the top of the screen doesn’t do anything for me. What is supposed to happen?

This is a big deal for me. I is a persistent annoyance because I use “search” constantly! to find a specific person or reference to something in a text. I don’t scan it eyeball for anything.

I would be happy with the behavior they have on the Home Screen. You swipe down and a search bar appears. So it’s hidden most of the time but appears in the middle of the screen where it can be seen.

Unfortunately it seems like Apple and google have decided to give up on search all together.

drakcreszur254 wrote:

Tapping the top of the screen doesn’t do anything for me. What is supposed to happen?

I believe they were referring to previous behavior.

This is a big deal for me. I is a persistent annoyance because I use “search” constantly! to find a specific person or reference to something in a text.

In what app are you having trouble searching? I, too, use search a lot. I haven't had any problems accessing it with iOS 26. Perhaps if you give some specific examples, someone could help you figure out the issue.

Unfortunately it seems like Apple and google have decided to give up on search all together.

You can let Apple know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

vdogg78 wrote:

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.

It's really unfortunate that the fact that we are not mind readers is causing you so much annoyance. So sorry.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

vdogg78 wrote:

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.

It's really unfortunate that the fact that we are not mind readers is causing you so much annoyance. So sorry.

Post of the day, right there!! 😉

IdrisSeabright wrote:

Do you remember ResEdit? You could do all sorts of modifications to your Mac. Lots of fun until you did something you didn't quite understand and then.... hopefully, you had a good back up.

I have a 3rd party resource/property editor, that I use once or twice a year.

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.