iOS 26: Header slightly shifts position shortly before animation ends

[Ejden]

Description

Hi,
on iOS >= 26 it looks like the animation for the header is bugged. When the previous screen from which we're navigating from doesn't have a header, the next screen header is not animated correctly. There's a slight shift at the end of the animation (and it doesn't look good).

I've included the video of how the issue looks like. First tab shows bugged animation, second tab working one.

ScreenRecording_03-17-2026.19-46-04_1.mp4

Steps to reproduce

I've pasted the url to the GitHub repo to make the reproduction easy.

1. Fetch repo
2. Run npm install
3. Run npm start
4. Click on the button shown on different tabs to see different behaviours between different variants of the screens. (HomeTab and SettingsTab shows incorrect animation, ProfileTab shows correctly displayed animation).

Snack or a link to a repository

https://github.com/Ejden/react-native-navigation-bug-report

Screens version

4.16.0

React Native version

0.81.5

Platforms

iOS

JavaScript runtime

Hermes

Workflow

Expo managed workflow

Architecture

Fabric (New Architecture)

Build type

Debug mode

Device

Real device

Device model

iPhone 14 Pro (iOS: 26.2.1)

Acknowledgements

Yes

[t0maboro]

Hi @Ejden ,
I was able to reproduce the issue in a native setup.
It appears that this "shaky" header movement is caused by a core system animation, over which we don't have control on our side.
I'd recommend reporting the issue directly to Apple, as it's likely something that needs to be addressed on their side.

native.mov

---

SceneDelegate:

- (void)scene:(UIScene *)scene willConnectToSession:(UISceneSession *)session options:(UISceneConnectionOptions *)connectionOptions {
    UIWindowScene *windowScene = (UIWindowScene *)scene;
    if (!windowScene) return;
    
    UIWindow *window = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithWindowScene:windowScene];
    
    window.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
    
    HomeViewController *homeVC = [[HomeViewController alloc] init];
    
    UINavigationController *navController = [[UINavigationController alloc] initWithRootViewController:homeVC];
    
    UINavigationBarAppearance *appearance = [[UINavigationBarAppearance alloc] init];
    [appearance configureWithOpaqueBackground];

    navController.navigationBar.standardAppearance = appearance;
    navController.navigationBar.scrollEdgeAppearance = appearance;
    
    window.rootViewController = navController;
    [window makeKeyAndVisible];
    self.window = window;
}

HomeVC:

#import "HomeViewController.h"
#import "SampleViewController.h"

@implementation HomeViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    self.title = @"Home";
    self.view.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
    
    UIBarButtonItem *backButton = [[UIBarButtonItem alloc] initWithTitle:@"Home"
                                                                   style:UIBarButtonItemStylePlain
                                                                  target:nil
                                                                  action:nil];
    self.navigationItem.backBarButtonItem = backButton;
    
    UILabel *titleLabel = [[UILabel alloc] init];
    titleLabel.text = @"Home Screen";
    titleLabel.textAlignment = NSTextAlignmentLeft;
    
    UIButton *sampleButton = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypeSystem];
    [sampleButton setTitle:@"Go to Sample" forState:UIControlStateNormal];
    [sampleButton addTarget:self action:@selector(navigateToSample) forControlEvents:UIControlEventTouchUpInside];
    
    UIStackView *stackView = [[UIStackView alloc] initWithArrangedSubviews:@[titleLabel, sampleButton]];
    stackView.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
    stackView.axis = UILayoutConstraintAxisVertical;
    
    stackView.alignment = UIStackViewAlignmentFill;
    stackView.spacing = 16.0;
    stackView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;
    
    [self.view addSubview:stackView];
    
    UILayoutGuide *safeArea = self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide;
    [NSLayoutConstraint activateConstraints:@[
        [stackView.topAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:safeArea.topAnchor constant:20.0],
        [stackView.leadingAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:safeArea.leadingAnchor constant:20.0],
        [stackView.trailingAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:safeArea.trailingAnchor constant:-20.0]
    ]];
}

- (void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {
    [super viewWillAppear:animated];
    // comment-out to show the header on the 1st screen
    [self.navigationController setNavigationBarHidden:YES animated:animated];
}

- (void)navigateToSample {
    SampleViewController *sampleVC = [[SampleViewController alloc] init];
    [self.navigationController pushViewController:sampleVC animated:YES];
}

@end

SampleVC:

#import "SampleViewController.h"

@implementation SampleViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    self.view.backgroundColor = [UIColor systemBackgroundColor];
    self.title = @"Sample";

    UILabel *label = [[UILabel alloc] init];
    label.text = @"Sample Screen";
    
    label.textAlignment = NSTextAlignmentLeft;
    label.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = NO;
    
    [self.view addSubview:label];
    
    UILayoutGuide *safeArea = self.view.safeAreaLayoutGuide;
    
    [NSLayoutConstraint activateConstraints:@[
        [label.topAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:safeArea.topAnchor constant:20.0],
        [label.leadingAnchor constraintEqualToAnchor:safeArea.leadingAnchor constant:20.0]
    ]];
}

- (void)viewWillAppear:(BOOL)animated {
    [super viewWillAppear:animated];
    [self.navigationController setNavigationBarHidden:NO animated:animated];
}

@end

[Ejden]

Will do, thanks