iOS 26 bug – photo turns red when zoomed in
byu/Jonkmclovin inios
I was able to reproduce the issue on my own iPhone using photos imported from an Android device. The images showed correctly in the grid view, but turned red the moment I zoomed in. Exiting and reopening the photo didn’t prevent it. The issue has been reported with photos from different Android brands. Examples shared by users include images originally taken on Samsung Galaxy and Motorola devices. The Android manufacturer does not appear to be the trigger.
The common factor is viewing those photos inside Apple’s Photos app and zooming in. There is no indication that the image files themselves are corrupted. When viewed outside the Photos app, or after applying a simple workaround, the photos display with their original colors intact. This points to a processing or rendering issue inside the iOS Photos app rather than damage to the underlying image data. Apple has not acknowledged the issue publicly. Reports associate the behavior with iOS 26, but there is no confirmation that it is limited to that version.
Photos imported from Android devices should be treated like any other locally stored image on iOS, yet something changes when the app switches from the initial preview to the zoomed-in view. That transition appears to trigger the red overlay. Not every Android photo is affected. Some users report that photos from newer Pixel devices display normally even when zoomed.
Others see the red tint consistently with images from specific phones or time periods. No reliable pattern has emerged so far. Differences in image metadata, color profiles, or how Android devices encode certain photos are possible factors, but Apple has not provided technical details.
This does not appear to be tied to how the photos were transferred. Users have reported the same behavior with images synced through cloud services, transferred via cable, or shared through messaging apps. Once the photo is in the iOS Photos library, the problem either occurs or it does not.
The color shift is reversible. Users can restore the correct colors directly in the Photos app using the built-in edit controls. This does not permanently modify or degrade the image. Open the affected photo in the Photos app.
Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
Tap Revert.
Reverting the photo removes the red overlay and restores the original appearance. The file itself is not damaged, and no image data is lost by doing this. The process essentially forces the Photos app to reload the image without applying the faulty rendering state. This workaround must be applied to each affected image individually.
There is no batch option, and reverting one photo does not prevent the issue from happening again with other images. If additional Android photos are imported later, they may show the same behavior until Apple fixes the underlying problem. Users should also be aware that entering Edit mode and reverting clears any prior edits made to that photo in the Photos app.
If adjustments were applied previously, those changes will be removed when the image is reverted. In that case, exporting a copy of the photo before reverting may be the safer option. At the moment, there is no setting in iOS to disable the behavior globally, and no confirmed fix beyond manually reverting affected images. Apple has not stated whether the issue is being solved or when a fix might arrive.
Sources: Lifehacker – If Some Photos Are Inexplicably Turning Red on Your iPhone, There’s a Fix
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