iOS 26 jerky scrolling on iPhone 12 mini

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iOS 26 jerky scrolling on iPhone 12 mini

Hello I updated to iOS 26 on my iPhone 12 mini today. I regret doing so as although it looks nice my phone now has jittery, jerky scrolling on everything- this has been a downgrade. I have read that it has happened on higher end more modern iPhones also but do not know if this is the case. I have restarted the phone. It is not an issue that can be solved by restarting, closing apps, uninstalling apps or anything like this - it is a problem that has been caused by the new IOS. My partners IPhone 12 is also affected. I am really just hoping that Apple will read this and push a patch sometime soon to fix it. I have tried turning off transparency and reducing motion. Nothing works. Many thanks.

iPhone 12 mini, iOS 26

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 5:19 AM

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Answer 1

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Mac Jim ID

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59,708 points

Sep 17, 2025 6:43 AM in response to Robfox888

That is something you usually notice for 3-4 days after EVERY update along with decreased battery life and heat, until the file indexing from the update has completed. These processes are performed in the background on your device along with updated object detection algorithms on your photo library.

Here is an article you can read that also explains the sluggish performance you should expect until the indexing has completed.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/09/15/apple-has-finally-explained-why-battery-life-can-be-different-after-an-os-update

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Answer 2

Robfox888 Author

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Sep 20, 2025 4:52 AM in response to Robfox888

Right so it’s now a few days later so I thought I’d update in case it helps anyone else later on.

I managed to fix the jittery scrolling on my iPhone 12 mini almost fully by-

Resetting all phone settings from the settings app
waiting a few hours
Installing google chrome - safari is still very jittery at the moment

I think that one of the settings causing problems was the zoom text in display and brightness. I have now increased the text size manually.

Picking up my partners full size IPhone 12 I can still see jitter on Amazon app, photo library and a few others (actually looking at my photo app it is also a bit jerky still). Luckily she does not notice it. One of the main things I liked about the IPhone was the butter smooth scrolling in nearly all apps. I have read in the past that Apple achieved this by accelerating the processor whenever it detected the screen being touched - not sure if that’s the case and if so if they have changed it.

I am not going to update my IPad 2022 to IOS 26 as I think I would risk spoiling the excellent, smooth user experience that the UI currently has.

I’m happy that my iPhone is mostly back to normal now. My advice to anyone in the future - if you have an older model iPhone or iPad and are happy with it - think twice before

updating it to a new IOS.

I have let Apple know about this issue in case they decide to try and fix it in a future update.

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Answer 3

Mac Jim ID

Level 9

59,708 points

Sep 17, 2025 7:57 AM in response to Robfox888

You can certainly send feedback to Apple. I would wait the 3-4 days, or even a week if you have a large photo library for optimization of object detection algorithms. Include in the feedback how long ago you updated, so it does not get dismissed as expected behavior from the normal indexing of files.

Product Feedback - Apple

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Answer 4

Robfox888 Author

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8 points

Sep 17, 2025 10:34 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Well further to the advice in this post from you guys - in case it was the settings I went to reset settings and did that… and waited an hour or two - and it actually does seem to be all settling down. Many thanks all - I’ve not had jitter after updates before but this seems to have fixed it 🤞

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Answer 5

Sep 17, 2025 6:28 AM in response to Robfox888

It's not always the iOS update's fault! Many things can cause phone problems. If you tell people you think it's an iOS update, it might make it harder to fix or find a solution for the real issue.

Remember, the right question often leads to the solution!

Was/Is your device Jailbroken? If that's the situation, please be informed that attributing the issues to iOS updates may not be accurate.

iOS updates aim to enhance user experience, boost security, and fix bugs rather than disrupt core features. The majority of the issues after updates might stem from underlying, unmentioned factors. Updates won't typically alter personal data but may refine settings or features. Backup before major updates for safety. Review Apple's update details and backup advice for a smooth process.

Kindly consider checking your settings and addressing any device issues before attributing the issue to external factors. This could be a pure coincidence that the iOS update affected the iPhone functions.

Before initiating a standard iOS update, it's advisable to create a backup. Have you completed this step? If yes, proceed with the restoration from the backup.

See what each update does: OS — iOS 26, About iOS 18 Updates, About iOS 17 Updates, About iOS 16 Updates, About iOS 15 Updates, About iOS 14 Updates, About iOS 13 Updates, About iOS 12 Updates, and so on...

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Answer 6

Sep 17, 2025 6:33 AM in response to Robfox888

It surely is not iOS 26 because...

I conducted a thorough search of this forum using the term 'Jerky while scrolling after iOS' and uncovered numerous posts detailing similar issues across various iOS updates. This suggests that iOS updates may not consistently be the root cause. Below are a handful of examples extracted from the search results:

This appears to be a device-specific issue.

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Answer 7

Robfox888 Author

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8 points

Sep 17, 2025 7:34 AM in response to SravanKrA

Many of these were not after an update. The ones that were - none of them that I have looked at were resolved by the suggestions or by restarts etc - leaving us to conclude that the update most likely caused the problem- which TBH is likely when installing new software on an older phone. I should have waited - checked if there were problems - and not installed the update. But I have been lolled into a false sense of security by the very good updates over the last few years. Apple need to allow people to roll back an update or provide a setting to completely disable Liquid Glass for those affected- as it has downgraded the performance of my previously butter smooth phone. The problem is across the board - on the vertically scrolling home widget screen, safari, email, facebook etc. It happened directly after the update and persists to now. It has affected my partners iPhone 12 also. It may be subtle enough that some people may not notice it. My purpose for posting this is to try and get someone to forward this information to Apple software engineers so they can look into fixing it or allowing LG to be turned off. I have tried multiple fixes like restarting phone, turning off transparency and motion effects. Nothing works. I strongly believe it is at best an oversight not addressed in the beta that needs fixing, or at worst a bug.

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Answer 8

Robfox888 Author

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8 points

Sep 17, 2025 7:44 AM in response to Mac Jim ID

Wow thankyou Mac👍 This is the kind of answer I was hoping for. I know the other guys are trying to help also. I am prepared to believe this could be the cause and will monitor for a few days. I will report back in a few days either way.

edit - after reading the article I’m not so sure - but as I say I will check over the next few days. Otherwise (and in the mean time) - I would be very grateful if someone could report this issue to Apple - if enough people report it they may look into it. I imagine that to duplicate it all that is required is to install the IOS 26 update on an IPhone 12 mini, and then check mail, browse safari, swipe to widget screen etc. Thanks again.

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