iOS 26 is causing eye strain, headaches, and nausea when viewing my iPhone 16

Same for me but I am on the iPhone 11 because my eyes cannot tolerate the liquid glass type OLED tech that is on the iphone 15 - 17. I had tried earlier this year for 6 weeks using them and had all of your mentioned problems so I went back to my iPhone 11 which had a iOS 18 version until I woke this morning to the iOS 26.1 and my eyes have been killing me since and I only looked at my phone on and off for about 20-30 minutes trying all of the mentioned options to reduce the brightness, sharpness, blurry icons/keyboard etc., but I think that there is tethering/flickering occurring in the background that our eyes are trying to focus on that we can't see outright causing the severe eye strain, headaches and vertigo spells. I really hope that Apple takes our complaints and concerns seriously issuing an update to toggle somethings to make it similar to the iOS 18.

Read this (also today) to the end!

How to disable New Liquid Glass design fo… - Apple Community

Hello. What have you tried to help your eyes?

. reduce the brightness of the screen.

. every 10 min. or so look away from your screen. Look left for 3 sec., look right for 3, look up then down.

. use drops.

. use warm compresses.

. disable liquid glass, as per the link on this thread.

cjshoes wrote:

Same for me but I am on the iPhone 11 because my eyes cannot tolerate the liquid glass type OLED tech that is on the iphone 15 - 17. I had tried earlier this year for 6 weeks using them and had all of your mentioned problems so I went back to my iPhone 11 which had a iOS 18 version until I woke this morning to the iOS 26.1 and my eyes have been killing me since and I only looked at my phone on and off for about 20-30 minutes trying all of the mentioned options to reduce the brightness, sharpness, blurry icons/keyboard etc., but I think that there is tethering/flickering occurring in the background that our eyes are trying to focus on that we can't see outright causing the severe eye strain, headaches and vertigo spells. I really hope that Apple takes our complaints and concerns seriously issuing an update to toggle somethings to make it similar to the iOS 18.

See if any of these suggetions help:

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

karolynAnn wrote:

I just updated reluctantly to the iOS 26 and I'm having the same exact issue. It's like the white is so bright. It just kills your eyes even if I adjust and try to turn down the brightness. There is definitely something going on. I absolutely hate trying to use my phone or ipad. there is no way I'm going to update my computer to this iOS 26 unless they fix this. I may even have to get devices different than Apple for the first time in years. I guess this is one way to keep people from using Screen Time.

Hello~ Click on below and review…

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250010041

Be sure to check out the other device systems before making a switch as many are moving towards this new look.

~Katana-San~

brentgrab wrote:

iOS 26 on my iPhone is hurting my eyes, giving me headaches, and causing nausea. Is anyone else having this problem?

Something with the white point and intensity of the brightness. My eyes hurt so bad and I am getting headaches which I never do. I noticed the brightness immediately after the update. No matter what settings I do in accessibly, display, contrast, white point, etc it’s still either way too intense to see properly or very dull but less eye strain.

Does anyone else have this issue? I don’t know what to do. It’s actually causing a lot of issues for my daily life now and I can’t keep having this. Hoping for a fix.

What did your doctor say when you went to see them about your issue?

I have a concussion and as soon as the update was installed I started having issues with looking at my phone - I have tried all the adjustments for the screen but something isn’t working for me and the new font is not friendly to my head. I can’t seem to adjust it to make things better. I wish I had not installed it - any way to go back to the old OS?

Nane98 wrote:

I have a concussion and as soon as the update was installed I started having issues with looking at my phone - I have tried all the adjustments for the screen but something isn’t working for me and the new font is not friendly to my head. I can’t seem to adjust it to make things better. I wish I had not installed it - any way to go back to the old OS?

No, you cannot go back to the old version.

As we don't know what steps you've taken, I'm going to suggest you review this document to see if there's anything you missed.

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

I just updated my devices last night and I'm having the same exact issue with my phone and iPad. There is definitely something going on with the whiteness or something. It's affecting my eyes and causing bad strain. I even adjusted the brightness and it doesn't do any good so it's something to do with the liquid glass.

I have the same problem I have sick since the updates constant headaches and pain. I have no problems before the updates

You probably need to check with a doctor and in the meantime disable liquid glass

A few days ago went from Seqoia to 26 on iMac… no matter how I adjust settings in display, accessibility and any other display adjustment I am getting sore eyes, headaches and nausea. The folders on desktop went from the light blue color that have been there for years to a darker blue with very shiny irritating quality.

It is at the point I can’t use my IMac for longer than 10 minutes. Tinting glass quality does not help.

Anyone else experiencing this and has anyone found a solution.

I just updated and now can’t stand looking at my screen. Giving me a headache and hurting my eyes. I made all suggested changes and nothing helps. It seems that buying a new phone won’t even help. I’m guessing apple dis this to force users upgrade. Which is common. But buying a new phone won’t help.

TurkyD wrote:

I just updated and now can’t stand looking at my screen. Giving me a headache and hurting my eyes. I made all suggested changes and nothing helps. It seems that buying a new phone won’t even help. I’m guessing apple dis this to force users upgrade. Which is common. But buying a new phone won’t help.

No. This is not an attempt to get you to purchase a new iPhone. It is simply the new look with iOS 26 and buying a new phone won't make any difference.

Since you responded to the first post here and you say you "made all suggested changes," we would have no clue what they were. Did you read this and use it to help you --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community I suspect not.

There's no reason your eyes should hurt or you should be experiencing headaches from Liquid Glass. You should schedule an appointment with a qualified eye doctor if they are.