Apple is finally improving the back gesture on iPhones with iOS 26, and the changes should make navigating menus and apps much easier on large phones.
As someone who’s had the opportunity to bounce around different smartphone operating systems, I can confidently say that the existing back gesture on iPhone is not good. It’s an area where Android really outshines iOS, especially for larger phones.
Prior to iOS 26, iPhone users had to either tap the ‘back’ button in the top-left corner of the screen or swipe in from the very edge of the left side of the screen. While both of these options work, neither is particularly good, especially if you’re using a large-screened iPhone or only have one hand available. Compare that to Android, where you can swipe in from either edge to go back — it’s a lot easier to do with one hand.
Thankfully, iOS 26 includes a small but welcome change to address this issue. As spotted by MacRumors, the first developer beta for iOS 26 drops the need to swipe in from the very edge of the screen. Instead, users can swipe left-to-right anywhere on the display to go back. The new, expanded gesture should work almost everywhere, though there are some exceptions. For example, you can swipe to go back on interactive UI elements, presumably because interacting with the element supersedes the back gesture.
MacRumors notes that the new gesture seems to work in most Apple apps, like Settings, Contacts, Music, and the App Store. However, it doesn’t work in all third-party apps, though that will likely change as developers update their apps to support iOS 26.
While it sounds good to me, I’d also like to try it in practice before passing judgment on the feature. It seems like it could potentially cause problems for some if it’s not implemented well. Regardless, it’s a move in the right direction and should make navigating iPhones a little easier for people with small hands, big phones, or both.
Header image credit: Apple
Source: MacRumors
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