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Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery
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Been using since first beta, it’s so jarring going back to iOS 18 now.
Liquid Glass really helps focus on the main content and removing the slabs of blur background on tab bars etc from the home button days.
I like Liquid Glass a great deal, but it definitely feels like a work in progress.
There’s a definite regression with the icons, which to my eye, don’t seems glass like but just a bit blurred.
I also feel that Apple could’ve continued with the direction it was going in with iOS 18 ie ‘frosted glass’ and it would’ve been ok.
There’s a definite regression with the icons, which to my eye, don’t seems glass like but just a bit blurred.
I also feel that Apple could’ve continued with the direction it was going in with iOS 18 ie ‘frosted glass’ and it would’ve been ok.
Yes it is. Huge rounded corners drive me crazy. They look awful, especially on small screen (27'' monitor makes them less ugly).
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I don’t think any usability claims were made. Liquid glass is all about looking different. (hopefully cooler, better).
Maybe not nefarious, but I also think this.
I would like to see a thoughtful, thorough analysis of battery life IOS 18 versus IOS 26 on an older device.
While I could probably get used to the less than optimal implementation of the UI elements, I can't help my battery.
Almost every example is harder to read, harder to see the bottom tab bars on iPhone for sure. This is not an improvement.
It's appalling that Apple is putting this out and promoting it - it makes for pretty images (and even then), but once in people's hands, it just does not work. A step backwards in terms of basic usability, not to forget it swiftly trashes years of efforts on the accessibility front.
The 26.1 fix to lessen the glossy effect doesn't fix anything - this user interface language is flawed at the core.
The 26.1 fix to lessen the glossy effect doesn't fix anything - this user interface language is flawed at the core.
Absolutely love it, it really brings back the joy of doing tasks... iOS was getting so boring and soulless and I'm so happy that Apple recognized this. LG really reminds me of the Aqua days. I hope it's here to stay! 👏
I had this exact same thought.
On small screens the last thing you want is more distraction or lack of clarity.
That’s a wonderful example of something that maybe looks good in the simulator or the lab, but is horrendous for real world usage.
Someday they’ll offer skins for iOS. Then we can load iOS 6 skin.📱📚
Pft.. good luck with that. We can't even get customized Apple Watch faces.
Apple has always been a "our way or the highway" kinda company.
I'm disappointed that all of the app descriptions in the Liquid Glass Gallery were written by AI. Note all the flowery language and the abundant use of em-dashes.
I'd argue that this is a great example of how bad the entire concept has been from the start.
Perhaps your opinion helps clarify the perspective of some users - you're more interested in the full content of the screen while others are more concerned about usability. I can understand a desire to fill the screen with content but "visual interest" is not something that should take precedence over legibility and clarity for something that requires user input for operation. What's worse is that these are selected screenshots to show ideal conditions. The apps I've been using are riddled with UI bugs and complexities.
There's been a growing absence and disregard for user interface guidelines as developers from all walks of life have gained the ability to publish software. While mobile flat touch screens have introduced the need to amend the guidelines, the fundamentals of human psychology and hand-eye coordination still hold true.
That's to say, lesser experienced developers are following Apple's lead and pushing out changes that make the user experience worse. Some of my favorite apps have become more complex with buttons all over the screen (the top corners are hard to reach) or hidden icons that used to be prominently displayed.
If the task was "fill the screen with content", Apple's developers should have pushed back and said they couldn't do so without interfering with the user experience. There are much bigger UX logistics to resolve before you remove anchor points and make the buttons transparent.
This reads like a chatgpt response.
But nonetheless like all things apple on MR, some people are on one side and some people are on the other.
I personally like the changes introduced with IOS 26. I’m not saying the UI changes make my workflow faster, but some of the under the cover improvements do. At any rate as I said above YMMV.
Speak for yourself. Those of us with visual impairments struggle with it. Moreover, aesthetically it looks like an interface made of Jello. I find it kinda junky- and cheap-looking TBH. To each their own I suppose.
This is a great selection of Liquid Glass in use. Apple just really really needs to iron out the bugs because they're piling up from old bugs yet to be fixed.
This render looks awesome. The interface looks almost nothing like this in real use. It’s lame.
Yeah loved me some iOS 6 and earlier! It still looks so good, like Apple peaked on six with OS X as well. Those were good times!