iOS 26 Adds All-New 'Clear Look' Option Alongside Light and Dark Mode

[kiranmk2]

Are we back to Windows Vista era again?
Any one remember Aero theme from Microsoft back in 2004?

I remember having a theme on Windows XP based on the early Vista demos - can't remember if it was called Longhorn or Aero, but it was black and shiny and I loved it!

No - it is the first version of a Beta of a new OS. Do not judge based on the pictures, you are seeing, become a developer and give Apple the necessary feedback.

Easy thing...

Feels like a lot of the doom and gloom comments are from people that did not live through the iOS 7 betas, or at least are not recalling the hatred towards iOS 7.
Massive amount of hatred about the new look including font size, font weight, readability, button states. Apple made massive changes to the tweak the usability of iOS7 before the release. I am sure that will occur again. I would expect significant visual tweaks over the coming months of betas.
The iOS we have today is the result of a lot of complaining and iterative fine tuning over the past 12 years. A redesign takes time and trial and error to get right.

Here me out, they just changed the UI on every one of their systems and it’s beta 1. Maybe they will find some time to tweak it before the final version is public.

I'm sure the design will get better before the publich launch, but you can't tell me management saw this design and let it go out to be blogged and commented about in this state. It's almost like the design team finished work on it last night and they didn't have time to remove it from the first beta!

As I commented on with an earlier rumour and mock-up, there are far too many instances of the background coming through far too much, meaning it's not obvious which buttons are selected and which just have something slightly darker behind them. I haven't used a Vision Pro, but I'm guessing there is a simple, intuitive UI where the stereoscopic displays make it much more obvious what is behind the icons/windows and what is part of the icons. Who knows, maybe the iPhone 17 will have a secret glasses-free 3D display!

 

[antonrg]

There is a few things that need some work like tabs in safari, but over all I have no major issues with the new UI seeing it beta 1.

Im more concerned about legibility of it all. This looks like a potential disaster for outdoor use.

 

[haydesigner]

the clear icons look so cool!

Looking “cool” and being usable can be highly different things.

 

[haydesigner]

if you’re ok with sacrificing some usability.

Except that is the complete opposite of what good UI should do.

 

[maxrest]

Looking “cool” and being usable can be highly different things.

I don’t recall commenting about usability but it’s usable to me.

 

[RobertPS]

The eye killer mode.

 

[anshuvorty]

I'm sorry, but this looks hideous!!!! Add this to this tinted app icons that was released last year and it is clear that Apple has lost their taste in UI aesthetics, right?

 

[haydesigner]

I don’t recall commenting about usability but it’s usable to me.

The whole POINT of a UI is to be usable 🙄

 

[maxrest]

The whole POINT of a UI is to be usable 🙄

Did you miss the POINT where I mentioned that it’s usable to me?

 

[xXRainKingXx]

This really irks me,

View attachment 2517894

Why does everything need its own bubble?! 😂 Apple gotta bubble everything!

And this was so wrong?

View attachment 2517897

This perfectly sums up the stupidity of this new design. Is there anyone who actually thinks the top picture is an improvement? All it does is obscure more of the video.

 

[haydesigner]

Did you miss the POINT where I mentioned that it’s usable to me?

I mean, it’s already obvious that you’re not in the UI/UX/Design fields. But hopefully you know the difference between anecdotal and empirical.

 

[8CoreWhore]

They better let us turn of transparency. Who TF wants to see smudges on a page? Imagine a book, or magazine with transparent pages. You are trying to focus on what's on the page but you are distracted by the blurry stuff on the flip side. So damn stupid.

 

[mattopotamus]

Thanks. Yikes with dark mode haha

 

[maxrest]

I mean, it’s already obvious that you’re not in the UI/UX/Design fields. But hopefully you know the difference between anecdotal and empirical.

Yeah and I bet you're more qualified than the UX designers at Apple. Maybe you should apply there and fix it since you seem to know everything and your point is objectively correct!

 

[Deepshade]

Can't believe this got out of an initial design meeting let alone making it to an Alpha! Don't you folks in the US have accessibility standards? This UI is (for many) unusable!

 

[citysnaps]

Don’t like it. Do we have the option to keep the classic look? This redesign looks like crap.

If you don't like it, simply don't update and you'll keep the classic look.

 

[applyr]

Oh boy, there are already a few peeks of the beta on YT, and the Control Centre looks absolutely dreadful!

 

[flexwithmarius]

Can't believe this got out of an initial design meeting let alone making it to an Alpha! Don't you folks in the US have accessibility standards? This UI is (for many) unusable!

You do realize Apple is the leader in accessibility, right?

 

[Deepshade]

You do realize Apple is the leader in accessibility, right?

And the readability and contrast ratio of this UI a joke right?

 

[haydesigner]

Yeah and I bet you're more qualified than the UX designers at Apple. Maybe you should apply there and fix it since you seem to know everything and your point is objectively correct!

So let’s go over what I’ve said so far:

“Looking “cool” and being usable can be highly different things”

“The whole POINT of a UI is to be usable 🙄”

“I mean, it’s already obvious that you’re not in the UI/UX/Design fields. But hopefully you know the difference between anecdotal and empirical.
———

Clearly that must mean that I am saying I “seem to know everything”…

As for “and your point is objectively correct!”, you don’t even understand what I was saying. My point was that a single person‘s opinion and/or experience does not define it for everyone else in the world. That’s why people should not impose their own opinion as the truth for everyone else.

But as far as bona fides, absolutely not saying I’m better than the Apple employees. I don’t know them. However, I do work professionally in this field, for literally decades now. Additionally I have actually taught design at universities.

 

[F27]

This perfectly sums up the stupidity of this new design. Is there anyone who actually thinks the top picture is an improvement? All it does is obscure more of the video.

Funnily enough if you go back again the previous UI obscured even less of the video.

And you could skip/pause without putting your finger in the middle of the screen. We are going backwards with every version!

 

[maxrest]

So let’s go over what I’ve said so far:

“Looking “cool” and being usable can be highly different things”

“The whole POINT of a UI is to be usable 🙄”

“I mean, it’s already obvious that you’re not in the UI/UX/Design fields. But hopefully you know the difference between anecdotal and empirical.
———

Clearly that must mean that I am saying I “seem to know everything”…

As for “and your point is objectively correct!”, you don’t even understand what I was saying. My point was that a single person‘s opinion and/or experience does not define it for everyone else in the world. That’s why people should not impose their own opinion as the truth for everyone else.

But as far as bona fides, absolutely not saying I’m better than the Apple employees. I don’t know them. However, I do work professionally in this field, for literally decades now. Additionally I have actually taught design at universities.

I was never trying to impose my opinion on anyone and don't recall where I did that, so if you'd like to point that out as well to me, that would be great so I can see how I misunderstood your point.

 

[Deepshade]

Didn't the Aqua (sorry Glass) look go out at the end of OSX 10??? like 20 plus years ago? Seriously someone sack the team responsible for this. It looks so naff and dated, plus, it's not accessible...and, for a company supplying a global product - its, it's... utter......words fail me!
What on earth has happened to Apple?? Navel gazing design, a CEO who wants to put rainbows and emoji's on everything - my goodness SJ must have turned so many times he could be starting a fire!

 

[DrPeril]

May favorite part of the new Clear Look design is definately how simple and straightforward it will be to talk my grandma through disabling it after she accidentally turns it on and loses the ability to do literally anything with her phone.

 

[applevisionpro]

How do you look at this and not think Apple has lost its ways?