Apple Introduces Liquid Glass: A New Design Paradigm for iOS 26
At WWDC 2025, Apple unveiled its latest innovation: Liquid Glass—a cutting-edge design language set to enhance its software ecosystems, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and watchOS 26. This glass-inspired aesthetic aims to redefine user experiences across Apple’s device lineup.
What is Liquid Glass?
Apple describes Liquid Glass as a revolutionary translucent material that mimics real-world glass properties. It dynamically changes color according to the content displayed, seamlessly transitioning between light and dark environments. This design choice certainly breathes new life into the interface of the iPhone and other Apple devices, contributing to a visually stunning user experience.
Initial Drawbacks of Liquid Glass
However, as enthusiasts begin to explore the implications of this new design, some drawbacks have come to light. Users have expressed concerns regarding the effect of excessive glass-like transparency on device usability. While many of these issues are minor and could be resolved with simple adjustments, they detract from what Apple touts as its most significant visual upgrade since iOS 7.
Enhancing Your Experience with iOS 26
For those currently experimenting with the iOS 25 Developer Beta 1 on compatible iPhones, there are built-in features that can mitigate some of the transparency-related challenges:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Navigate to Accessibility > Display & Text Size.
- Locate two toggle options: Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast.
- Activating the Reduce Transparency toggle enhances contrast by diminishing transparency and blurring in some background elements, thereby improving legibility.
- Similarly, the Increase Contrast option boosts color differentiation between app foregrounds and backgrounds.
User Interface Implications of Reducing Transparency
Adjusting these toggles, whether separately or in combination, can significantly impact the user interface aesthetics of your iPhone. For instance, the Control Center has faced criticism for its overly transparent design, which can complicate navigation and focus.
By engaging the Reduce Transparency feature, users receive a darker backdrop, which helps the user interface elements of the Control Center stand out more distinctly. Transparency issues are also noted in the Notification Center and app navigation controls, leading to a less than optimal user experience.
The screenshot above illustrates how certain navigation buttons can become difficult to read against varied backgrounds. This issue arises from numerous color combinations available on devices, making resolution complex.
In contrast, when both the Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast options are enabled, users may see some improvement, although outcomes can still be inconsistent. These visual inconsistencies may be attributed to the early beta nature of iOS 26, with updates likely required to achieve smoother functionality.
Future Updates and User Input
As Apple collects user feedback through its beta testing program, it is anticipated that additional refinements will improve the overall stability and usability of the software before releasing the public beta of iOS 26 in July. Users interested in trying out the newest updates can enroll in the developer beta program, but should be aware of potential bugs and performance issues.
For further details on how to address the transparency concerns caused by Liquid Glass, you can visit the full guide here.
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