I can’t see albums/memories/pets/people… after the new hot-fix in the Collections tab. Does this happened to someone else? I tried restart, reinstalling photos, turning off and on icloud… nothing. I can search albums manually and I can see them in apps like Messenger etc… - from Reddit
With the release of iOS 26 Beta, Apple introduced powerful new features to the Photos app — including smarter AI photo classification, enhanced 48MP ProRAW support, and more intelligent search tools. But not everything is working as expected.
As highlighted above, users in online communities such as Reddit have begun reporting serious bugs, including missing albums, empty “Collections” tabs, and broken AI search. If your favorite photos are suddenly gone or your albums appear blank, you're not alone. These issues may be caused by iCloud sync glitches, unfinished AI indexing, or permission conflicts in the beta system. In this article, we’ll explore what’s new (and broken) in iOS 26 Photos, and provide step-by-step solutions to help you restore lost content or fix functionality.
Group photos by the people and events are more accurate.
Provides better clarity in the high-resolution shots
You could search with the phrases like ''my dog in park'' or ''sunset at beach''.
Although the arrival of the iOS 26 beta brings some of the most exciting functions, it also introduces various photo issues, a few of which are listed below.
Several users with the iPhone 14 Pro or the new version have been reporting ‘’iOS 26 beta photo blurry fix’’ issue, missing from the library, or are over-processed.
This issue is likely to have occurred due to the unfinished ProRAW optimization in the iOS 26 beta. To avoid facing the ''iPhone 48MP photos missing'' issue, you may update to the new iOS after a week when the new update comes.
After installing the beta, some users could find photos missing from the albums and this could also result from the temporary iCloud syncing bugs. You may recover deleted photos from iPhone via the recently deleted folder, and if it doesn't work, you can opt for the iPhone photo recovery software to access the lost data.
Since the rollout of iOS 26 Beta, users across platforms like Reddit have reported a widespread bug where the Photos app’s “Collections” tab appears completely blank but are accessible via other apps such as Messages or third-party gallery tools.
The AI-based search tool remains one of the most outstanding functions, but for various people, this function doesn't work and ends up facing the ‘’iOS 26 Beta photo search not working’’ issue.
NFC and Permissions Causing App Bugs
Some users have also noticed that after installing the iOS 26 Beta, the Photos app malfunctions when using AirDrop, third-party apps, and NFC tags.
If you're struggling with the ''iOS 26 beta photos app suck'' this can't be a good sight. This type of issue might occur due to iOS bugs, and to fix this issue, you could use the UltData iPhone Data Recovery.
The advantage you've got while using this tool is that it presents the opportunity of eliminating the 150+ software bugs. While repairing the iOS device for software bugs, UltData iPhone Data Recovery doesn't cause any data loss.
Follow the step-by-step guide given below to repair the iOS device via UltData for iPhone Data Recovery .
If you've lost the critical iPhone photos after updating the iOS device, you are advised to look at the UltData iPhone Data Recovery to retrieve the deleted data.
With its fast scanning speed and data preview function, UltData for iPhone Data Recovery aims to make the data recovery process look simple and effortless.
Features
How to recover lost iPhone photos due to update via UltData for iPhone Data Recovery?
Many users are currently experiencing frustrating issues with the iOS 26 Photos app — includingempty “Collections” tabs, missing 48MP ProRAW photos, broken AI search, and iCloud syncing glitches<. As shared in Reddit discussions, even after restarting or reinstalling the Photos app, some albums remain invisible despite being accessible via other apps.
To resolve these issues and recover any missing photos, UltData iPhone Data Recovery can help. Besides fixing common software glitches, it allows you to restore deleted or hidden images quickly. With an intuitive interface and support for 35+ types of data, it's a reliable solution for recovering your valuable iPhone content — even during a buggy beta rollout.
This is most likely due to a bug in the new AI search indexing system. The photos app might not have finished deindexing the library, or Siri & search permissions might be disabled.
Some of the 48 MP images may appear blurry or go missing due to the ProRAW format error or incomplete syncing in beta. You must also check the camera settings and Recently Deleted Album for data recovery.
As with any beta release, iOS 26 seems to be unfinished. Many features like syncing, ProRAW handling, and Smart search are still under development and could end up breaking or behaving unpredictably.
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UltData - Best iPhone Data Recovery Tool
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UltData: Best iPhone Recovery Tool
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By Jenefey Aaron
2025-06-26 / iOS 26