When Apple previewed iOS 26 at WWDC 2025, I was not only excited to try the new features but was also curious how my older iPhone 12 would handle the update. I installed the iOS 26 Developer Beta and I put it through different tasks. After almost two weeks of testing, I can definitely say the experience has been surprisingly decent, maybe even better than I expected. The apps launched quickly, background apps weren’t lagging, and iOS 26 features still ran well on older models. I think the only real trade-off is its terrible battery life.
If you’re also planning to install the latest iOS 26 on iPhone 12, iPhone 11, or other older models, here’s a realistic look at what to expect.
First Impressions: Downloading the Beta Version
I’m used to downloading the beta versions on my Apple devices. I’ve tried several iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS betas in the past years. Honestly, downloading the iOS 26 Developer Beta felt faster than previous major releases.
Despite being a 5-year-old (almost) device, my iPhone 12 handled the beta installation pretty well. It didn’t overheat during the installation process. Yes, it was notably warmer than usual, but that’s expected when you upgrade to a major release, especially a beta version. The boot time after installation was slightly longer, but nothing too annoying. Overall, downloading the iOS 26 beta on an older iPhone 12 was pretty simple and straightforward.
How Does My iPhone 12 Handle the New iOS 26?
Touch Responsiveness
I was super-excited to see the brand-new Liquid Glass in action, and surprisingly, it appeared right on the “Hello” screen, which now has a glassy and fresh look.
When I started using iOS 26 on my iPhone 12, the overall UI felt pretty smooth. The swipes and scrolls worked pretty well, and 3D touches feel more natural now. However, the touch responsiveness didn’t feel great after some time. My iPhone 12 has Apple’s favorite 60Hz screen, but most of the time, I felt it was running at 30Hz or even lower. As a result, some gestures appeared sluggish. I think that’s because of some iOS 26 beta bugs or performance hiccups with older hardware.
App Launches
App launches are pretty quick and solid with iOS 26. I was both surprised and impressed to see how smoothly the initial beta version works on an older iPhone model. Apple’s first-party apps like Messages, Weather, Safari, Notes, and Mail open up quickly and work well without any noticeable hiccups.
Interestingly, even third-party apps have been working well. Sometimes, Instagram and Spotify took an extra second or two to load up, but that wasn’t annoying. I didn’t come across any app crashes, freezing issues, or major lags across the system. Most of the apps worked smoothly, which is great for a beta. However, when I opened gaming apps like PUBG, things took a surprising turn. My iPhone 12 took forever to load them. In a couple of cases, the game even quit unexpectedly and relaunched.
Multitasking
App switching and transitions were also pretty smooth and snappy. Most of the time, jumping between apps is smooth, and multitasking doesn’t feel like a struggle. However, when I opened more than five apps in the background, I noticed occasional stuttering on my iPhone. There were a couple of minor system crashes here and there, but I think this will stabilize in the coming beta versions.
Customizations
I was also excited to try out the new home screen customization options in iOS 26, especially the lighter tint for app icons. I was missing that in iOS 18, and it’s finally here. However, the experience wasn’t exactly smooth on my iPhone 12. When I applied the lighter tint, my iPhone took a bit of time to apply the customizations, especially in the App Library. Some icons took time to load, while others were stuck in a state where they weren’t properly visible. Of course, Apple will iron out these inconsistencies in future updates.
Battery Life: The Real Trade-Off I Wasn’t Ready For
In terms of iOS 26 bugs and issues, battery drain would be the biggest for me. Honestly, I knew an unusual battery drain would be there, but I didn’t expect it to be this noticeable. Apple introduced several new features with iOS 26, but some of them appear to require more power and system resources than my iPhone 12, or even any older iPhone can offer. Compared to iOS 18, I noticed a significant drop in battery life on my iPhone 12 running iOS 26. With the same usage, I saw a drop of 15% to 20% on iOS 26. And that’s a huge hit.
Even Apple has addressed battery life issues on iOS 26 and has already pushed out a patch for the iPhone 15 and 16 models. Unfortunately, if you’re using an older device like the iPhone 12, you might have to wait a bit longer.
Apple also introduced the Adaptive Power mode on iOS 26 that helps save battery life, but it’s exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and newer.
iOS 26 Features that Feel Smooth on Older iPhones
Honestly, my iPhone 12 is handling the iOS 26 update better than I expected. Despite being one of the oldest iPhones supported by iOS 26, my iPhone 12 runs several of the new features pretty well. Also, Apple has done a nice job optimizing the latest software version for older hardware.
The new Liquid Glass design is one of the most evident and standout visual upgrades. It’s available everywhere, and it looks just as good on older iPhones as it does on newer ones. The Messages and Camera apps now look cleaner and more organized with the new interface. You’ll also find new layouts in Photos, the Phone app, and Apple Music. The brand-new Call Screening feature also works fine on the older models. The new Spatial Scene photos feature is also surprisingly supported on the iPhone 12. Also, you’ll get to enjoy a revamped Lock Screen experience on iPhone 12 (and later), but it’s subtle compared to how it looks on the newer models.
Even without all the flashy and more innovative features, iOS 26 still brings a fresh layer of functionality to older hardware.
Where Does the Older iPhone Struggle?
While my iPhone 12 supports several new iOS 26 features, it also shows clear signs of aging. First, I experienced battery drain even with light to moderate usage. In most cases, heavier apps take longer to load, and sometimes they even crash entirely. Using multiple apps at once triggers stuttering issues, while UI elements may glitch during customization. That’s not all. The more exciting features, like Live Translation, smarter reminders, Message upgrades, and Waller orderer tracking, are missing entirely on older hardware. Overall, the new experience on older devices comes with a share of compromises.
Final Thoughts: Should You Upgrade an Older iPhone to iOS 26?
If you’re using an older device like an iPhone 11 or iPhone 12, upgrading to iOS 26 would feel like a mixed bag. On one hand, you’ll get to enjoy the Liquid Glass interface (which I like), a fluid Lock Screen, and more customization options that deliver a fresh look & feel to your older iPhones. The core apps and features also work well.
However, there are some trade-offs too. While every beta comes with bugs and glitches, app freezes, system crashes, and performance hiccups are more noticeable on older hardware. Above all, battery life takes a toll.
So, should you upgrade to iOS 26 right now? Well, if you’re a tech enthusiast who wants to enjoy all the new features and can live with a few bugs and shorter battery life, iOS 26 is worth trying out.
However, if you rely on your iPhone for daily tasks and don’t have a secondary device, I strongly recommend skipping the Developer Beta release for now. There’s also no point in beta testing if your phone is already lagging. In such cases, I’d recommend waiting for the Public Beta release, or even the official version that arrives this fall.
If you decide to make an upgrade, make sure to back up your iPhone beforehand. If things don’t work as expected, you still have time to downgrade from iOS 26 to iOS 18.