Is your iPhone seeing red? An iOS 26 bug “burns” your photos from Android

Apple has never made life easier for those switching from Android to iPhone (or using both). Even if the DMA pushes for more openness, an anomaly spotted in the Photos app of iOS 26, and relayed on Redditreminds us that cohabitation can still surprise.

Red is dead

For several days, the same scenario has been recurring: photos captured by an Android smartphone, sent to an iPhone then saved in the photo gallery, are displayed correctly in thumbnails. So far, so good. But once the photo is opened, a zoom is sometimes enough to trigger a very marked red tint, as if a filter had just been applied. Some also say that when trying to retouch the image, it can turn gray.

The phenomenon has not yet been observed on an iPhone running iOS 18. This bug also has a capricious side. A user assures that he is only confronted with this problem with photos taken by a Motorola Razr, another only with shots from a Galaxy S24.

Apple has not officially communicated, and the latest updates have not resolved the problem. Reports exist under iOS 26.1, and others assure that iOS 26.2 does not correct anything. The most credible lead, often cited online, points to a misinterpretation of color information integrated into files (profiles, HDR) in certain cases.

Fortunately, this is not an irreversible malfunction, and only the display is derailed. While waiting for a fix, a trick works for several people. To do this, simply open the photo, click Edit, then select Revert at the top right. The image then regains its colors, but you have to repeat the manipulation for each shot concerned, which can quickly become boring.

It’s all the more frustrating since iOS 26 also brings visible new features, such as the redesign of Siri, the Liquid Glass interface, live translation and editing tools. And this is not an isolated case in recent history: iOS 15 had already been singled out for photos received via Messages which disappeared, and iOS 17.5 for deleted photos which reappeared.