Fuzzy blurry mess

[Crystal21]

Is there any way to fix this? My phone has auto updates on, and I stupidly didn’t do any research into how bad ios26 is. The photos show comparisons of my iPad and iPhone and you can see how blurry the apps look on the phone. It just looks broken. Like an old VHS tape.

Both devices have reduced transparency on and the iPhone has increased contrast which only helped slightly.

 

[StumpyBloke]

I genuinely can’t see what you are referring to. Both screens look absolutely fine to me. And I would also say, both screens look as clear as each other.

 

[HouseLannister]

That's the aesthetic they chose for iOS 26 icons. No changing that. You could go the shortcuts route to do custom icons, but it is a crippled mess and not like having an actual icon picker. The sharpness is gone and the bold colors are much more pastel. Everything has a bit of Vaseline rubbed over it. Gray icons like settings, camera, calculator are the worse in my opinion. The dark icons look somewhat better, but they are still bad.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I genuinely can’t see what you are referring to. Both screens look absolutely fine to me. And I would also say, both screens look as clear as each other.

The icons are noticeably blurry by comparison in the top image.

The user is not imagining this.
This is a known and well discussed drawback of iOS 26 and liquid glass.

 

[I7guy]

The icons are noticeably blurry by comparison in the top image.

The user is not imagining this.
This is a known and well discussed drawback of iOS 26 and liquid glass.

The icons are softer without hard edges. This is not the same characterization as blurry.

 

[Dust-by-Monday]

It’s because of the bevels on all the elements. It’s not blurry but all the tiny bevels add up and at a distance that looks blurry. The photos app is the worst offender but I got used to it. Look at it up close and you’ll see what I mean. It’s sharp

 

[turbineseaplane]

The icons are softer without hard edges. This is not the same characterization as blurry.

"softer and without hard edges" = "looks a little blurry to people".

It’s because of the bevels on all the elements. It’s not blurry but all the tiny bevels add up and at a distance that looks blurry. The photos app is the worst offender but I got used to it. Look at it up close and you’ll see what I mean. It’s sharp

It doesn't matter the "how", but the result.

Whatever they've done, for whatever reason, DOES make a result that looks less sharp (blurrier is one way to say that) to people.

Compare them closely -- this is pretty easy to see.

 

[I7guy]

"softer and without hard edges" = "looks a little blurry to people".



It doesn't matter the "how", but the result.

Whatever they've done, for whatever reason, DOES make a result that looks less sharp (blurrier is one way to say that) to people.

Compare them closely -- this is pretty easy to see.

View attachment 2587143View attachment 2587144

The top icon to me looks better. Of course pixel peeping like this makes everything look blurry, but the top icon looks better in this example.

 

[HouseLannister]

Can we rename Stolkholm syndrome to be Apple syndrome?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Can we rename Stolkholm syndrome to be Apple syndrome?

For real.
I'm just at a loss for words on how far the defense of Apple extends.

It seems like they could claim "water is not wet" and some faction of folks would support that view.

 

[Abydos]

either clean your glasses or lay off the sauce (maybe both)

 

[Mactech20]

Is it just me or does iOS 26 kinda remind anyone of iOS 6?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Is it just me or does iOS 26 kinda remind anyone of iOS 6?

It reminds me of this

 

[ProbablyDylan]

The icons are softer without hard edges. This is not the same characterization as blurry.

Does it quack like a duck?

 

[sw1tcher]

I genuinely can’t see what you are referring to. Both screens look absolutely fine to me. And I would also say, both screens look as clear as each other.

Compare the Reminders app. Look at the 3 dots and even the lines. iOS 26 Reminders app icon and the elements within it are not sharp and crisp like before. I think that's what Crystal21 is referring to.

iOS 26:

Before:

 

[JoeSilver]

"softer and without hard edges" = "looks a little blurry to people".



It doesn't matter the "how", but the result.

Whatever they've done, for whatever reason, DOES make a result that looks less sharp (blurrier is one way to say that) to people.

Compare them closely -- this is pretty easy to see.

View attachment 2587143View attachment 2587144

This is not like they appear in the first screenshot.

 

[JoeSilver]

Download the 2 screenshots, open them in the Viewer and zoom both at 1:1. The icons from the iPad are nearly 3 times taller.

In order to compare icons between the 2 images, you guys are zooming the icons from the iPhone, which will of course become more pixelated, even if the iPhone screenshot has a higher dpi.

 

[Tig_one]

Can we rename Stolkholm syndrome to be Apple syndrome?

The Liquid Gaslight syndrome.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This is not like they appear in the first screenshot.

I don't know what you mean.
Can you please help us out by posting screenshots?

 

[StumpyBloke]

Personally, I think iOS 26 is an absolute waste of time… It is nothing more than applying lipstick to a pig. But I don’t see an issue with the difference in the icons. Yes I can see a difference (now), it just doesn’t cause me a problem. And if anyone thinks that’s me defending Apple, then the more power to you: think what you like.

 

[Detektiv-Pinky]

It’s because of the bevels on all the elements. It’s not blurry but all the tiny bevels add up and at a distance that looks blurry. The photos app is the worst offender but I got used to it. Look at it up close and you’ll see what I mean. It’s sharp

Just look at the dots in the Reminders app. They are clearly washed out - a lot!

 

[Siliconguy]

The "tinted" option helped me quite a lot. Originally with the intended look text over a light background was pretty bad, now with "tinted" turned on it's tolerable. It could be even more opaque. I have no need to see through the front most window or dialog box. I am not walking and laptopping at the same time.

I just set up a Monterey install on a 2014 Mini. That is a much clearer desktop. Sonoma on this M1 Air is also very usable. The user interface best on a laptop is not necessarily the best for the goggle-VR thing, but the reverse is also true. Zorin Linux ships with eight themes, certainly Apple can manage two (standard and VR) or three if you count dark mode as a separate theme.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just look at the dots in the Reminders app. They are clearly washed out - a lot!

It's no use ..

We have a "there are four lights" situation here

 

[CharlesShaw]

I usually

Just look at the dots in the Reminders app. They are clearly washed out - a lot!

Exactly. The same fuzziness on my 11" iPad Home Screen. Blurry edges on elements initially made me blink a lot, thinking the issue was my eyesight.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Are you comparing the top to the bottom? You like the bottom one better or the top one? Or do you think they both look blurry?

FWIW, I don't see the top screen icons as blurry. I see them as having a little depth.