iOS 26 Allows You To Restore Any iPhone Without a Mac or PC

Apple's iOS 26 introduces Recovery Assistant, a feature that allows users to restore malfunctioning iPhones without requiring a Mac or PC. The system automatically boots devices into Recovery mode when startup issues occur, displaying the message "This iPhone encountered an issue while starting."

Users can then initiate recovery through another Apple device like an iPad, which downloads and installs a newer iOS version onto the malfunctioning iPhone. Apple described Recovery Assistant as "a new way to recover your device if it doesn't start up normally" in release notes for the second iOS 26 beta.

Fixing shit headline...

[TurboStar]

iOS 26 allows you to restore an iPhone with an iPad. From what I can tell. TFA doesn't really say much.

Re:

[quonset]

iOS 26 allows you to restore an iPhone with an iPad. From what I can tell. TFA doesn't really say much.

I was going to say something similar. Apparently an iPad isn't a Mac.

Re: Fixing shit headline...

[Magic5Ball]

One small step towards an iPad being required to restore an iPhone.

Re:

[Nebulo]

Read the article a little more carefully. The Restore Assistant *can* restore from another device, like an iPad, but it also includes recovery capabilities that don't require another device. Sounds like it can scan the operating system of a malfunctioning device and attempt an in-place repair.

Another feature I don't need or want

[registrations_suck]

Is Apple going to put ANYTHING in this release that is even remotely useful to me?

Sure doesn't seem like it.

So far, its biggest feature seems to be fucking up the interface.

Yes

[SuperKendall]

Is Apple going to put ANYTHING in this release that is even remotely useful to me?

There is a lot of stuff under the hood in the new SDKs that will make for better apps, like better direct connection between devices even if they are not on WiFi. Also expanded app intents make widgets more and more useful, and App Data more accessible to on-device intelligence.

And speaking of that, apps being able to use the general purpose AI will lead to a lot of useful apps that don't feed your data to ChatGPT.

However the

will it do while roaming?

[Joe_Dragon]

will it do while roaming?

Re:

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

What do you mean by roaming?

Re:

[abulafia]

Do you want to pay roaming fees on a 8-ish gig download?

Dunno what your carrier charges you, but most that would be a painful fraction of their yearly income.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Nobody requires you to restore your phone over a cellular connection.

Go someplace where there is WiFi.

Sigh.

[ledow]

Apple reinvents a mode present on countless millions of devices and dozens of architectures for decades and suddenly it's "news".