iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design Draws Criticism From Users

[scorp508]

Awful.

We tried this in 2007 with Windows Vista RTM and nobody liked it then. So far none of my friends and colleagues who have upgraded like it.

Thankful for the accessibility feature to reduce the transparency, but please oh please let us kill it with fire.

 

[ChazSch]

I would hope you would all realize that the tilted icons are an optical illusion caused by the highlight around the edge of the icon that reacts to the geowatchamecallit in the phone

 

[true god]

Apple is still using all the muscles except one that matters.

 

[Sami13496]

For me, the problem isn’t transparency or the contract. The real issue is with the new UI elements. For example, Safari’s controls have been completely redesigned, and they’ve become awful to use.

 

[krspkbl]

I hated it at first when the first Dev beta came out. Maybe because i’ve saw how far it’s came I don’t mind it so much now.

It’s not perfect. Definitely some things Apple can and probably will tweak with future updates.

Now I like it. Couldn’t go back.

People get angry and upset when things change. It’s not that bad. Nobody will care in 2 months time.

 

[anthony131]

No one is obligated to justify why they like something to you.

Dude. What’s up your butt?

 

[anthony131]

This reminds me of the late 90s when transparency was just popping up in UIs and then EVERYTHING had to be transparent, including the hardware. Yuck. Liquid Glass, like all the other skeuomorphic crap over the years is a fad gimmick and I hope it goes away with quickness.

And you recall who was wholly responsible for that, right?
Cook is copying Jobs.

 

[Starfia]

A belated thanks to Juli for aggregating a range of opinions, and to the team for providing an ebullient place to chat and vent about it. There seems to be unusual demand for such a place this time around.

 

[Project Alice]

I absolutely love it. In fact I wish it was way more than it is. I have HATED the flat UI we have had since iOS 7. I hated it back then, and I never liked it. I got "used to it". I didn't start using an iPhone until I got an iPhone 7 CIRCA 2019-2020. Back when iOS 7 came out I had an HTC, and was able to keep it looking how I wanted. I did not update my iPod Touch to iOS 7.

macOS\iOS 26 brings back some of the character we had with Aqua, which shouldn't have ever left. Some people ignorantly compare liquid glass to Windows Aero, which while the comparison is incorrect, Windows Aero is another thing that shouldn't have ever left. It's like people don't have eyes. This is all a very welcome change, and I genuinely hope Apple doesn't let people bully them into going back to the horrendous flat UI I've been cursed at starring at for almost two decades.

 

[tomekwsrod]

It's quite bad on iOS, and the point about additonal battery drain for some fancy UI effects is spot on, maybe that's their way to force user to buy new iPhones, but the UI looks even worse on macOS, look at the forums for screenshots to see examples, or just open the Contacts app on Tahoe and compare it to the previous version.

 

[_Refurbished_]

I love it! Slick, smooth and beautiful. Best iOS yet! Also, it has improved my battery live and doesn’t get any where near as warm when using or charging it.

Tim Cook has entered the chat

 

[Puonti]

The time being so small when I have a podcast playing on my lock screen drives me crazy.

Unlock the phone, then tap the podcast art on the lockscreen to switch to full-size clock element.

 

[orc4hire]

I hated it at first when the first Dev beta came out. Maybe because i’ve saw how far it’s came I don’t mind it so much now.

It’s not perfect. Definitely some things Apple can and probably will tweak with future updates.

Now I like it. Couldn’t go back.

People get angry and upset when things change. It’s not that bad. Nobody will care in 2 months time.

People get angry and upset when changes for the worse are forced on them. People don't stop caring; they stop complaining when it becomes obvious that the situation isn't going to improve and either switch to a different product or trudge along, dealing with the nagging frustration that things aren't as good as they used to be and never will be again.

But you can prove me wrong. Offer me a million US greenback dollars. By your view of the world, I will certainly refuse it because I fear change.

As a bonus, offer me the million and if you're in the northeastern US I'll even come by your house once a month for a year to rearrange your kitchen so you can prove how much you love change.

 

[steester]

I like it, took a little while, but now I am finding it enjoyable.

 

[rp2011]

Yeah, a UI is not supposed to draw attention to itself. it should be invisible, transparent but not literally. In interior design I grade great design when you can casually walk into a space and enjoy and admire a space without anything blatantly drawing attention to itself to question it. When everything is so well thought out that it just works no matter how unconventional it might be once carefully dissected.

 

[ginkobiloba]

complaints about Liquid Glass are interspersed with responses from people who have been using it during beta, and the consensus is "you'll get used to it."

Yeah...No. We shouldn't have to "get used" to mediocrity. And the new design ( or lack of it , more precisely ) is one of the most mediocre things to come up from Apple in decades.

 

[Marty80]

Have you heard of dark mode.

 

[AppleFanBoyCAN]

I freakin love it and actually wish there would be more translucent Liquid Glass like the Home Screen notifications. There’s not enough of it

 

[orc4hire]

Have you heard of dark mode.

Oh, oh, I have!

iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design Makes App Icons Look Crooked, Report Users

iOS 26's new Liquid Glass interface has been criticized for making some content illegible in certain circumstances, and now the UI design is...

www.macrumors.com

 

[p.willis]

Having watched the beta releases I was expecting this to be a disaster that needed a lot of turning off defaults.

I just upgraded, somewhat reluctantly, and have changed nothing.

It's fine. The look is subtle mostly.
I dont get the "crooked icons" that I saw complaints about.

The general non tech public arent going to be clutching their pearls over this.

 

[p.willis]

I knew this was gonna be an issue

any major update gets slight changes as real world testing en masse reveals a few things.
but for .0 release, this is nowhere near the disaster it is being made out to be.

and if Apple had kept the interface the same, there would have been as many or more voices complaining that Apple are stale.

you cant win.

 

[2128506]

Huh, haters gonna gate, I guess.

Updated iPhone and iPad, kinda like new design, to be honest. Looks tasty, animations are fast and not annoying at all.

 

[maxoakland]

I agree it lacks polish. If the only complaint are the visual bugs and lack of polish, that irks me too.

But as a design concept and metaphor, iOS 26 is far superior to iOS 18.

I read the bulk of the complaints to be on the latter point, not the "this just lacks polish right now" point you're making.

No, the legibility is also a huge problem

 

[arc of the universe]

I immediately downgraded back to iOS 18. I was embarrassed for how silly, cartoonish, and fruity my phone suddenly looked. And it ran super slow. Surprised they don’t even let you switch it off. Avoid the upgrade especially if on an older iPhone.

i agree it makes it look a little silly and/or cartoonish. your words.

that precisely why i like it ! i call it a fresh look. light. fluid. but i do understand that some people prefer an iOS to just look, well, old...and less challenging to them. i can appreciate that, too.

also, im running iOS 26 on my iPhone SE (2)*. and its not running super slow - and that's even though my SE2 has only 81% battery health indicated.

*until my iPhone Air comes. and then iOS 26 is going to look even better.

 

[Dmoney77]

LOL, people are still crying over Liquid Glass? Just how people were crying over iOS 7 back then. Man, this too will pass with future updates and refinements. Personally, I’m loving this new update as the flat design that we had in previous updates was getting stale. iOS 26 makes my phone feel futuristic.