iPhone Users Shocked: iOS 26 Turns Android Photos Red or Gray

The most recent iOS 26 update from Apple has reportedly resulted in strange colors appearing in pictures taken with an Android phone, especially if these pictures were shared through Instagram, according to a number of user reports.

Users of the iPhone are posting about the issue in forums, such as Reddit, saying that pictures taken with Android mobile phones are looking distorted in the iOS Photos app. The problem usually happens when one is zooming in on the picture, and some users even mention a red tint. It is quite interesting that the photos are appearing normal on iPhones that are using older software versions like iOS 18.

The reports indicate that the bug's presence is not the same on all devices. Some users have noticed the issue only with particular models like the Moto Razr or the Samsung Galaxy S24, while at the same time, others are complaining that the problem is affecting iPhone-to-iPhone photos across different software versions, which makes it sound like the bug might not be just about Android sources after all.

There are also reports claiming that the images in question go gray during editing, and the problem has rather continued to haunt the users even after the updates to iOS 26.1 and 26.2 have been applied. Nevertheless, the issue is not all-encompassing since there are also many iPhones with the same software version that do not show the glitch.

The main reason behind this is still a mystery. One of the possibilities pointed out by experts is that there might be a mismatch with HDR standards or perhaps some problems with the internal rendering processes, but on the other hand, both Apple and Google have not yet provided an explanation for the issue.

Besides photo glitches, iOS 26 has already been the subject of numerous user complaints. Other issues mentioned are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth dropouts, unexpected photo artifacts, lag in the UI, irregular keyboard functioning, frozen control panels, missing app icons and quicker than expected battery drain.

One of the things that the iOS 26.2 update from Apple did, was to fix a number of security vulnerabilities, one of which was related to WebKit and could have enabled attackers to target users through the internet. Security fix has been done, but the functional bugs that distort the colors in the pictures are still there to annoy the users.

Specialists observe that the flaw seems to be unintentional rather than intentional, revealing typical software development lapses in big operating system updates. Even after several patches, it has not been possible to eliminate some problems which have been a constant source of difficulty in ensuring uniformity among the numerous device types.

Apple is still working on iOS 26 and the users are requested to report the persistent bugs through the recognized support channels so that the problem-solving process gets help.