Apple may finally solve a major navigation issue on iPhones with iOS 26. It tweaks the swipe-to-go-back gesture to trigger from anywhere, not just the edge.
In iOS 18, going back requires swiping from the left edge of the screen. The problem? Reaching that corner with your thumb can be tough, especially on larger Pro Max models.
iPhone might finally get a usable back gesture
iPhone users have long complained about the lack of a universal back gesture. It can make navigation difficult in some cases. Some apps place a back button in the top-left corner, while others rely on a back gesture. But to invoke this gesture, you must swipe from the left edge of the screen using your thumb. And this requires a fair bit of finger gymnastics.
In iOS 26 Developer Beta 1, Apple appears to have tweaked how the back gesture works. You don’t necessarily need to swipe from the left edge of the screen. Swiping from even the middle of the display works, as long as you do so by placing your thumb on a non-interactive UI element. This makes going back in apps a lot easier.
In my testing, I found the swipe-to-go-back gesture working reliably in the Settings app, App Store, Contacts and Weather. I only made sure to start swiping from a non-interactive part of the UI. Surprisingly, the tweaked gesture behavior also worked reliably in certain third-party apps. So far, the only app where I still need to swipe from the edge is the Messages app.
As before, the swipe gesture won’t work on menus that appear as pop-ups.
Tweaked gesture will make navigation easier on big iPhones
The tweaked back gesture might seem like a small deal, but it will make navigating through app menus on iPhone easier and faster. It will be beneficial on larger models, such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max with its massive 6.9-inch display.
If you are running iOS 26 Developer Beta 1 on your iPhone, try swiping from the middle of the screen from a sub-menu in the Settings app to go back.
