Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

[code-m]

The liquid glass is cool looking but seems like a way to create a need for hardware resources to make older devices obsolete faster. It’s really completely unnecessary from a user perspective. Seems like it’s self serving to Apple business model.

It maybe but there are many cameras on an iPhone that not being used for creative purposes. Imagine iOS and iPadOS gaining VisionOS personas with an upgraded front camera. Imagine having the option to display a live background via the rear camera that gives an iPhone or iPad that slab of glass or picture frame illusion.

One could almost consider where an iPhone can slide into a housing and provide an Apple Vision Pro feel without being stuck to a single device, sort of like a taste of AVP.

 

[einsteinbqat]

I actually like Liquid Glass. My locked screen and Home Screen work as a pair, using random wallpapers that changes at lock, though the wallpaper on the Home Screen is blurred.

 

[code-m]

This is an even better summation:

Steve Jobs Would Have Fired Everyone
https://macdailynews.com/2025/06/11...ves-calls-wwdc-2025-a-yawner/#comment-2662894

I think what is missing in LiquidGlass is Depth-of-Field, at present it just seems like glass sitting onto of the UI/UX with no glow or shadow just background distortion. Aqua GUI still beats LiquidGlass as it was lick worthy delicious.

 

[trusso]

PSA:

View attachment 2519158

Gentle reminder that what you're seeing is a work-in-progress and buggy software that's an early preview and not ready for prime time. People loving bashing Apple because they've got nothing better to do.

Yes, but also the beta version(s) are when developers and users need to raise their voices to correct the most egregious issues, otherwise they're liable to become baked-in to the final product.

 

[Marlor]

Why does Apple keep coming back to this over and over again. Will it never learn?

OS X 10.0 had too much transparency, so they toned it down over subsequent releases to aid readability and reduce compute overheads.

Then they suddenly decided in Leopard (10.5) to put transparency everywhere again. Menus became hard to read and contrast took a hit. So it was toned down over subsequent releases. By Mavericks, there wasn't much transparency at all.

Then in 10.10 (Yosemite), Apple plastered transparency everywhere again. It was just as bad as the first few times, so they toned it down over subsequent releases.

Now, they're trying again. Does Apple really expect it to pan out any differently than the first three times they tried this?

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why does Apple keep coming back to this over and over again. Will it never learn?

OS X 10.0 had too much transparency, so they toned it down over subsequent releases to aid readability and reduce compute overheads.

Then they suddenly decided in Leopard (10.5) to put transparency everywhere again. Menus became hard to read and contrast took a hit. So it was toned down over subsequent releases. By Mavericks, there wasn't much transparency at all.

Then in 10.10 (Yosemite), Apple plastered transparency everywhere again. It was just as bad as the first few times, so they toned it down over subsequent releases.

Now, they're trying again. Does Apple really expect it to pan out any differently than the first three times they tried this?

I think enough time goes by that the lessons previously learned get forgotten and/or the people come and go that did the learning.

 

[ThomasJL]

Apple should rehire Scott Forstall so he can purge every last bit of that Microsoft-pioneered abomination known as flat design and all flat design variants (like glassmorphism and neumorphism) out of iOS and macOS and replace it with iOS 6-stlye and Mac OS X Mountain Lion-style skeuomorphism. But that will never happen because Tim Cook is too clueless and mediocre to see the value of Apple-pioneered skeuomorphism, which was the most innovative and user-friendly in the entire industly, backed by Apple's three decades of painstaking research into user-friendliness.

 

[adammusic]

PLEASE GOD LET US DISABLE THIS ATROCIOUS LIQUID GLASS COMPLETELY

 

[srminton]

Exactly the same reactions when Aqua came out. Not visually optimal, too bright colors, too much 3D effect, wrong colors for close, minimize and expand window buttons since they are more inline with danger and caution rather than open/close ideas, childish graphics... man, I said it before... but it's like it's 2000 all over again.
Remember it's a free beta OS this time so, you chose to go with it to give feedback at your own risk. Have comfort knowing you had to actually pay for the first Mac OS X beta with the Aqua interface.
Old man rant over. 😂
EDIT: I actually wish they tone up the Liquid Glass GUI! Like Aqua Extreme levels. I really enjoyed that over-the-top, cool and skeuomorphic interface.

You're right - we go through this cycle every time there's an interface redesign. Some of the specific issues will be addressed, as this is a beta release and there's still HALF A YEAR before this design is actually finished. But as for the overall design concept, everyone will get used to it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You're right - we go through this cycle every time there's an interface redesign. Some of the specific issues will be addressed, as this is a beta release and there's still HALF A YEAR before this design is actually finished. But as for the overall design concept, everyone will get used to it.

1/2 a year? Until September?

You know it's June, right?

 

[srminton]

1/2 a year? Until September?

You know it's June, right?

1/2 a 1/2 year 😛

 

[DeepIn2U]

While the liquid glass of this first beta looks nice, I suspect it will get subtly tweaked to make it a little bit more frosty. Just a tiny bit. I think it’s a bit too transparent, at least in elements like the dock, but I this new look anyway.

Lmao.


Nope.

If know anything bout Apple production or golden master and release is the polished version while beta is beta.

In example fashion Mac OS X (its been so long now so I cannot recall) the 2 GM/Rel of OS X prior to Panther was refined in the latter.

Leopard then snow leopard different UI concepts.
Ios 7 vs 8 inperceptable from one another really interesting of UI, dare I say ios 9 as well.

Still the glass was too much of an overbaord move clearly mirrors withstood to shy away from the bad Ai publicity and failings that never met the hype. Toomey deals made at once without a clear path ans plan of how it all was to come together unfortunately.

Case in point Craig's been missing in action from all things OS or Apple in just over 2 hrs since announcement of Ai nodoubt he's protected by Tim and honestly should've receive the SAME forced apology for the screw ups that was pushed onto Forstall for Maps - data vector points nobody at Apple then had controll of from the mapping partner!

All ios and mac users should really be thinking why wasnt this public apology done or pushed and forced onto Craig?!??!

Wasn't it himthe publicly tate he pushed all teams at Apple to embrace Ai ?!

Things that make you go hmmmm!

Ios,macos and ipados are severely being held back in advancements due to him remaining intolerance and control.

I mean 7yrs after mocking a bump he over glories the copying and removes a global standard for sharing Bluetooth contacts that has NEVER been a security risk at all.

 

[Hkfan45]

You might be shocked how usable and solid Android is these days. I was surprised.

 

[AndiG]

Apple has gone completely nuts these days.
Or should I say, Apple has gone Vista?


Steve Ballmer 2013: “Vista was my biggest mistake”
Tim Cook 2026: “Liquid glass was my biggest mistake”

Apple 2024/2025: Apple Intelligence Vaporware
Apple 2025/2026: Liquid Glass 💩

Steve Jobs must be turning in his grave.

 

[AndreDC]

Hi all.
Not to just be a smart comment but can anyone in the industry or with a bit more knowledge tell me how does it work in regards to getting a design change like this approved. I understand they have a very closed process because they dont want to give away their future design plans, but am I wrong in thinking that surely there must be staff at Apple who pointed out that this is really hard to read? My parents for example would find this impossible.
I get that it will be tweaked etc... but my question more is does Apple realise that it will be controversial and perhaps just 'test the waters' with a dev/public beta? Or do you think their team there really thought it was good?

 

[Dr McKay]

I think it just needs a little tweaking in certain places like the opacity, maybe up the blur amount on some backgrounds. In some places it’s pretty much perfect, in others it’s a readability nightmare.

 

[contacos]

Agree 100%.

I really think "cool looking interfaces" in TV & Movies have infected the minds of "designers".

This is all for the "look" and not for the usability.

They slowly want users to get used to the idea of smart glasses in the future. You can't have floating elements on top of a real environment without showing what's behind or you might as well fall into a construction hole

 

[Chazak]

With respect to the comments - wash, rinse and repeat every time there is major change no matter what software or hardware it is done to. In the end, the vast majority of users (which are not participants in these forums) are quite happy. The complaining about something in the first beta stage is laughable. It seems like there are a million experts here all of whom know exactly what to do to make it perfect. The added-in name calling and derogatory remarks directed at Apple execs is so childish. All it accomplishes is reducing or removing the credibility of the person it comes from. The number of childish remarks here surprises me considering most participants would consider themselves professionals.

 

[contacos]

You're right - we go through this cycle every time there's an interface redesign. Some of the specific issues will be addressed, as this is a beta release and there's still HALF A YEAR before this design is actually finished. But as for the overall design concept, everyone will get used to it.

June to September is half a year?

 

[one more]

PSA:

View attachment 2519158

Gentle reminder that what you're seeing is a work-in-progress and buggy software that's an early preview and not ready for prime time. People loving bashing Apple because they've got nothing better to do.

Well, I know it is a beta and I am actually trying to help Apple by giving them my honest feedback, so they can tweak their new design and make it better for everybody when it launches in September. Nothing to do with “loving bashing Apple”.

 

[grammatica]

The Liquid Glass folder on top of a blurred background—even Control Center—makes no sense. Apple's goal was to mimic glass. It even showed the design team using glass to see how it interacts with real-world elements.

A more accurate representation would be an un-blurred background and, instead, the Liquid Glass element would distort the background.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

It is not okay that Apple changes the design of the user interface on an expensive phone without giving customers the option to keep the old design. Those design changes are the reason why I never update Windows.

Windows introduced a transparent design two decades ago and I saw it as a waste of computing resources. That waste is even worse on a mobile device with a limited battery capacity. If battery life shrinks by 1%, it is not worth it.

Android has the advantage that you can use a different launcher with different features and a completely different design. It allows me to change the grid for example to put 73 (8x8 + 5) apps on the home screen. An iPhone only allows 28 (6x4 + 4) apps. That is an annoying low number.

When Apple does design decisions, it does not prioritize what the customers want, but instead want to make its devices easily recognizable for people who do not (yet) own an Apple device. It is very hard to hide the fact that you own an Apple device. Especially an iPhone Pro with its camera placement,

 

[kid1230]

Everything just looks like bubbles It'll take some time for me IMO.

 

[d4cloo]

For all the criticism I have regarding Vision Pro (I have one, the dev kit version) for being mostly useless, the glass-like UI is much better there compared to iOS, where it feels like a skin rather than a complete rethink.

And as a 45 year old man, I want my UI to be simple and minimalist. I don’t want to see my home screen if the focus is on my app folder. They will need to make changes across the board for people to remain happy users, is my thought.

 

[Kottu]

I wish there were a way to make the icon image slightly smaller while keeping it in color. Everyone perceives visual elements differently, and turning everything colorless and translucent can make it harder for many users to distinguish icons. This is especially true in corporate apps, where similar icons are often used with only slight variations in the background.

One more thing… Apple, please let us edit App library how we want.