No. They have been doing this every year for the past several years: https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/19/ios-18-forced-ios-26-upgrade/ https://www.macrumors.

No. They have been doing this every year for the past several years: https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/19/ios-18-forced-ios-26-upgrade/ https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/19/ios-18-forced-ios-26-up... It's being noticed just now because iOS 26 has controversial UI/UX and many users don't want to update.