Confirming the rumors, the upcoming iOS 26.4 is expected to bring end-to-end encryption to messages exchanged between iPhone and Android using the RCS standard. There’s more: as this feature depends on a newer version of RCS, 3.0, other welcome additions are also expected to arrive: editing and deleting sent messages, reactions (tapback) without duplicating messages, and replying to specific messages.

iOS 26 still struggles to gain traction with iPhone users  cultofmac.com

Ed Hardy found some very interesting data in StatCounter's figures:

[…] Roughly four months after launching in mid-September, only about 15% of iPhone users have some version of the new operating system installed. That’s according to data for January 2026 from StatCounter. Instead, most users hold onto previous versions.

For comparison, in January 2025, about 63% of iPhone users had some iOS 18 version installed. So after roughly the same amount of time, the adoption rate of Apple newest OS was about four times higher.

The adoption curve for iOS 26 is atypical, and by a wide margin. Previous years (2023, 2022) delivered numbers more similar to those of 2024, for iOS 18.

I thank all my friends who remain steadfast with iOS 18. I couldn't resist and updated mine, and although I find iOS's Liquid Glass to be the least worst among all the devices I've used so far, it's still the weirdest version since I started using an iPhone over a decade ago.

I hope these numbers set off an alarm in Apple's design department.

Update (5h10 PM): It’s possible, though unconfirmed, that a change in Safari’s user-agent is messing with StatCounter’s numbers. Other sources, however, support the suspicion of slower iOS 26 adoption, albeit to a lesser degree.

Doppi, the nicest player for your music files

White play button against a purple blue background.

In my first adventure returning to music files (*.mp3, *.flac) in 2023, I mentioned an iOS app called Doppi as a great discovery. It was the app I chose to accompany me on my second attempt, which was successful this time.

That’s why I thought it was worth highlighting the app (“the nicest player for your music files”). Not only is it great, but it has also gotten some amazing new features:

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