Find out how to return to the old, classic layout of your iPhone’s Phone app if you don’t like the new changes brought forward by iOS 26.
The Phone and FaceTime apps in iOS 26 have been redesigned with a new look. The Favorites bottom tab in the new Phone app layout is gone, and now your favorite contacts are displayed as big tiles at the top of the Calls tab, showing the contact posters.
Similarly, the FaceTime app no longer shows your recent calls in a list. Instead, every call and call suggestion appears as big rectangular boxes in a column of two.
Design is subjective, and while many may like this new look, some, like me, don’t. I prefer seeing more things, such as multiple recent call entries, on the screen without having to scroll.
Secondly, this new design looks nice if you have taken the time to set up Contact Posters. If not, the empty placeholder tiles appear unappealing and unnecessary, with free space in both the Phone and FaceTime apps that feels like a giant waste of usable space.
Switch to the old Phone app design in iOS 26
- Open the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the Calls tab.
- Tap the three-line icon from the upper right corner and select Classic in place of Unified.
As soon as you do this, the tiles at the top showing your favorite contacts will disappear. You’ll see all the familiar tabs at the bottom of the screen: Favorites, Recents, Contacts, Keypad, and Voicemail (in supported regions or if you’ve Live Voicemail enabled).
To switch to the new design again, select the Recents tab at the bottom, hit the menu in the top-right corner, and choose Unified.
Revert to the old FaceTime design
Unfortunately, iOS 26 doesn’t allow switching to the old FaceTime design. And unlike Android, you can’t uninstall the app updates for core iOS apps to return to the original build or sideload apps via an app file. So, if you use FaceTime a lot and detest the new design, here are some options to consider:
- Ignore or delete the FaceTime app and make FaceTime video or audio calls from the Phone app, the Contacts app, or by asking Siri.
- Add or update Contact Posters to enhance the new FaceTime tile design and subsequently adapt to the new design.
- Lastly, if getting back the old FaceTime design is paramount, downgrade your iPhone from iOS 26 to iOS 18. Thereafter, turn off automatic software updates to stay on iOS 18 as long as you don’t develop a taste for the new FaceTime app design.
Also, check out: How to use Apple’s new Phone app on Mac and iPad