iOS 26: Make App Icons Clear on Your iPhone Home Screen

[MacRumors]

If you've just downloaded the iOS 26 public beta on your iPhone, the first thing you'll notice is the new Liquid Glass design overhaul, which adopts translucent elements throughout the system interface and in stock apps.

On the Home Screen, the search bar, dock, and app folders are translucent. By default, app icons have a new layered glass look that gives them dimension, but there's also a new option for "Clear" glass-like icons. This setting turns your app icons transparent, and widgets too. So if you want the full glass effect, read on.

In iOS 18, Apple introduced Dark Mode and Tinted app icons. With iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, Apple adds a third visual style – Clear – that removes the color from app icons and widgets, and applies reflective, translucent effects to make them appear see-through.

There are two versions of the new Clear style. In Light mode, app icons appear semi-transparent, subtly darkening the wallpaper beneath them. Both icons and widgets resemble glass-like panels with layered text and images. In Dark mode, icons retain some transparency but feature a darker background, making them more pronounced while preserving the layered, translucent aesthetic.

Apple also includes an Auto option that dynamically adapts to the Appearance setting of your iPhone.

How to Get Clear App Icons in iOS 26

1. On your iPhone's Home Screen, long press an empty space until it enters jiggle mode.
2. Tap Edit in the top-left corner, then tap Customize in the pop-up menu.
   
   
   
   Select Clear in the panel that appears at the bottom.
   Choose Light, Dark, or Auto mode. If a mode makes icons or app labels hard to see, tap the sun icon in the top-left of the Customize panel to dim the wallpaper.
   
   

Accessibility Settings

If legibility is a problem, there are two toggles in Settings ➝ Accessibility ➝ Display & Text Size that impact the look of the Clear style of icons. Try playing with Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast – just note that toggling on both settings will cause the icons to lose most of their translucency.

Clear icon style in Dark mode (left) vs. Accessibility setting toggles​

Liquid Glass extends to iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. ‌iPadOS 26‌ looks a lot like ‌iOS 26‌, and macOS 26 has a translucent menu bar and dock background, plus it uses Liquid Glass for buttons, side bars, navigation bars, and the Control Center. What do you think of the new Clear style and the Liquid Glass redesign of iOS 26 more broadly? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: iOS 26: Make App Icons Clear on Your iPhone Home Screen

 

[wikiverse]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

There is a reason we use whiteboards with colored markers instead of writing on windows and mirrors with white markers. There's also a reason why we don't have clear televisions.

Something is intended to be seen or seen through. Not both.

 

[svish]

Good article. Will try out the various options once I update my iPhone. Really like the new liquid glass design.

 

[tim_apple]

I used it for a while but it was generally too hard to identify apps when they had no color at all. Would love to see an option for icons with a colored foreground and glass background.

 

[ifxf]

Apple no longer cares about legibility.

 

[antonrg]

I wonder if making the coloured icons look more like frosted coloured glass would be better for legibility and overall use while still retaining the whole liquid glass madness they are obsessed with…

 

[Glenny2lappies]

Seems like the modern version of the failed skeuomorphic designs. Usability flies out of the window as form trumps function for a few designers to show off their ability to produce hard-to-use interfaces.

A large meh.

 

[vegetassj4]

What the big deal? The button on the side of my phone already makes the apps invisible.

 

[Godspeed8230]

A prime example of "new feature" when you don't have any real new features.

 

[nottorp]

So can you turn all this crap off and bring contrast back via the accessibility settings?

 

[sunapple]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

There is a reason we use whiteboards with colored markers instead of writing on windows and mirrors with white markers. There's also a reason why we don't have clear televisions.

Something is intended to be seen or seen through. Not both.

Maybe if it were more like a head-up display, which works because the text has clear colors.

But yeah completely clear is just here for laughs. Imagine they made this an option on CarPlay.

 

[MALmen]

You know it's a great new design when you have to go into accessibility to disable it.

 

[Harvey Zoltan]

I'm enjoying the change.

 

[iPay]

Now I see like my grandparents! Even better with wriggling icons, great design for elders.
If iGlasses use the same design, they'll turn the world into Silent Hill.

 

[macmedal]

Sometimes it's hard enough finding that app I only use once in a while, have forgotten the name of, but I remember the icon by its colour and design. I really can't see the benefit of this, to some it might look aesthetically good but in practical terms it's a loser for me. Some aspects are OK but the icon thing is not good.

 

[scottishwildcat]

I used it for a while but it was generally too hard to identify apps when they had no color at all. Would love to see an option for icons with a colored foreground and glass background.

That's more or less what "dark mode" for icons is these days... the background isn't very transparent, though.

 

[.wojtek]

I'm enjoying the change.

wait, do you have any icons on your phone or its just all funny wallpaper? can't decide 😜🤣

 

[.wojtek]

Sometimes it's hard enough finding that app I only use once in a while, have forgotten the name of, but I remember the icon by its colour and design. I really can't see the benefit of this, to some it might look aesthetically good but in practical terms it's a loser for me. Some aspects are OK but the icon thing is not good.

you know what's even more infuriating - the push by Apple to make all the icons have the same shape which makes finding the app even more difficult...

and if it were only for Apple I wouldn't care that much but of course google and the android ecosystem had to copy this stupidity...

 

[adrianlondon]

I thought it looked cool for about a minute, then gave up and turned the colours back on.

It also messed up my photo widget, but I guess it had to do that as otherwise the glaring colours may have looked out of place.

 

[Celtic-moniker]

What the big deal? The button on the side of my phone already makes the apps invisible.

View attachment 2531780

I kinda feel that this is my first dad-joke of the day.

 

[ifxf]

Sometimes it's hard enough finding that app I only use once in a while, have forgotten the name of, but I remember the icon by its colour and design. I really can't see the benefit of this, to some it might look aesthetically good but in practical terms it's a loser for me. Some aspects are OK but the icon thing is not good.

Why doesn’t Apple search tell you the home screen page where an app is located? It tells you if it is located in a folder.

 

[BMJT]

Why would anyone do this.

 

[Reason077]

No thanks. This looks horrendous.

 

[Saturnine]

Years ago, when I was still studying, we examined the WIMP system - Window, Icons, Menus and Pulldowns - how pioneers such as Xerox, Apple and others got the basic form of early GUIs so right.

Now, back in the late 70s and early 80s, icons were seen as revolutionary. In a world of plain text, they were a quick way of drawing the viewer’s eye. A user could locate, identify and activate a well designed icon far more quickly than they could find a piece of text. This is why we have icons - not because they’re pretty little pictures.

Is Apple simply providing users with a choice, or have they just forgotten what icons are for? I appreciate that an operating system having essentially monochrome icons is certainly not a new thing; most early GUIs had monochrome icons. But it’s not the 1980s anymore and colour is a key differentiator. Also, given that Apple limits the size and shape of its iOS icons, it doesn’t give icon designers much left to play with. It might make your home screen look cool, if that’s your bag, but it certainly doesn’t do much for usability. Of course, Apple would never prioritise form over function! ;-)

 

[attila]

I don't even like the tinted feature.

It's easier to glance over your apps if they're colour coded. No matter if I expect the same app to be in the same location (which isn't true if you use the Siri Suggestions widget, which is pretty awesome btw)