Dizzying iOS 26 optical illusion leaves iPhone users feeling 'drunk'

From a visual perspective, the launch of this year's line up iPhones has been interesting to say the least. From bold new designs to the shocking advent of 'scratch gate', there's been plenty to talk about from a hardware perspective already. And it seems one aspect of the new software is baffling users too.

It turns out more than a few users are experiencing a phenomenon whereby their home screen icons appear to be slanted on iOS 26. It's a subtle effect, but, seeing as your home screen is something you look at everyday, a noticeable one – and it seems to be seriously triggering the perfectionist in some users. Because what use is the best iPhone for photography if its icons aren't perfectly straight?

ios from r/ios/comments/1ni1d1r/ios_26_do_the_icons_seem_skewed

"This iOS 26 optical illusion is driving me insane," one Gizmodo journalist calmly proclaims. Like several users, they're seeing icons that tilt slightly to the left. But it's all an illusion – it turns out the effect is being caused by the shimmering borders Apple has added to icons in order to create a subtle parallax effect when moving the phone. The effect is most noticeable against a dark background.

And Reddit is full of users asking if they're seeing things. "I hadn’t noticed it at the first glance, but now I can’t unsee the tilted app icons," one user comments, while another adds, "It’s really weird. It’s like they’re falling over. They look crooked." Another user pithily puts it, "This update is making me feel drunk."

Luckily, there's a way of sobering up. Enabling the 'Reduce Motion' setting in the Accessibility settings of the iPhone puts a stop to the parallax effect, straightening out the icons. Now if only those scratches could be as easily fixed – and I don't just mean buying a case.