Make iOS 26 Look Like iOS 18?

[Andrew7]

Does anyone know of any tricks to make iOS 26 look mostly like iOS 18 without jailbreaking?

 

[aperfectcircle]

I’m not aware of anything beyond the options in accessibility - reduce transparency and increase contrast - but those won’t revert toolbars and buttons to the iOS 18 design styles, they just “deglaze” the Liquid Glass to a degree.

 

[Act3]

It is like they added the eye candy to appease those with ADHD. I prefer function over aesthetics. At least provide an option to disable the useless glass feature.

Need a powerful person to declare " let's MIGA"

Don't get me wrong , iOS 26 brings some useful features. But can't they just add them to iOS 18 and tone down the eye candy?

 

[Andrew7]

I’m not aware of anything beyond the options in accessibility - reduce transparency and increase contrast - but those won’t revert toolbars and buttons to the iOS 18 design styles, they just “deglaze” the Liquid Glass to a degree.

Thank you. I found the option to reduce transparency. It does feel much more like iOS 18.

 

[Andrew7]

It is like they added the eye candy to appease those with ADHD. I prefer function over aesthetics. At least provide an option to disable the useless glass feature.

Need a powerful person to declare " let's MIGA"

Don't get me wrong , iOS 26 brings some useful features. But can't they just add them to iOS 18 and tone down the eye candy?

Agreed. I did honestly give it a chance but after a week I just can’t seem to get used to it. It feels too much like a gimmick.

 

[Paddle1]

Reduce Transparency apparently increases battery usage. All you can do is just ignore the glass since most of the UI is still flat design.

 

[Andrew7]

Reduce Transparency apparently increases battery usage. All you can do is just ignore the glass since most of the UI is still flat design.

That’s odd. You’d think that it would actually SAVE battery. I suppose I’ll have to get used to it or wait for Apple to make adjustments. Oh well.

 

[scrane]

"Reduce Motion" along with "Reduce Transparency" pretty much kills Liquid Glass on my 13 mini. These two plus turning off "Background Refresh" and shortcutting to Low Power mode improves battery life considerably. I'm very happy with the way it's running.

 

[turbineseaplane]

"Reduce Motion" along with "Reduce Transparency" pretty much kills Liquid Glass on my 13 mini. These two plus turning off "Background Refresh" and shortcutting to Low Power mode improves battery life considerably. I'm very happy with the way it's running.

Wow, what an "update" -- thx Apple.

Keeps running ok if you "turn everything off" - lol

(13 mini user myself -- staying on iOS18 as long as I can)

 

[scrane]

Wow, what an "update" -- thx Apple.

Keeps running ok if you "turn everything off" - lol

(13 mini user myself -- staying on iOS18 as long as I can)

Please read the original post.

 

[SebCohen]

It is like they added the eye candy to appease those with ADHD. I prefer function over aesthetics. At least provide an option to disable the useless glass feature.

Need a powerful person to declare " let's MIGA"

Don't get me wrong , iOS 26 brings some useful features. But can't they just add them to iOS 18 and tone down the eye candy?

Those with ADHD gets mightily distracted by stuff like that, so….if they they, they fubbed up. 🖖

 

[SebCohen]

Reduce Transparency apparently increases battery usage. All you can do is just ignore the glass since most of the UI is still flat design.

That’s like if you use your credit card less, your bill increases…. No bueno.

 

[scrane]

That’s like if you use your credit card less, your bill increases…. No bueno.

If I remember correctly, the person who brought this up said that transparency got tangled up with motion and increased battery usage. Turning off motion and transparency kills the Liquid Glass illusion, reducing a lot of computations. I like the added features of ios26, but I could care less about Liquid Glass.