Apple’s new Liquid Glass is meant to dynamically transform to help bring greater focus to content, delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more. For the very first time, the new design extends across platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26 — to establish even more harmony while maintaining the distinct qualities that make each unique.
Mark Wilson for Fast Company:
Still, Apple knows that people rely on their iPhones for everything, and they can’t wholesale change the way people use the most important device in their lives. That’s why Liquid Glass is less a deconstruction of iOS than a luxe reskin—replacing chunks of iOS piece by piece rather than revolutionizing it, for now.
It’s a toe-dipping sensibility that I appreciate. Moving fast and breaking things is crucial for fundraising and devastating for real life. Apple may serve its customers better by being careful, adjusting its designs little by little, more like a car company than a tech startup.
Unfortunately, Apple still didn’t nail Liquid Glass out of the gate. And it doesn’t help that, rumor has it, the company put a tight deadline on itself, only developing Liquid Glass for six months before its announcement.
While Liquid Glass is full of interesting ideas and some truly gorgeous animation work from Apple’s still-unparalleled technicians, experts I spoke to pointed out that it was inconsistently implemented, and they believe it will make life worse for a lot of its users. They say its cognitive load (think of it as the invisible tax on your brain) is higher across the board than its previous UX. Specifically, its low contrast design—which often blurs the distinction between the phone’s background and its messages in the foreground—will prove difficult for older adults, especially, to read.
If one core idea has promise inside Liquid Glass, it’s that Apple is introducing stretchable, reshapable buttons and new animations, which can break out of the more static menu bars we’ve known for so long.
Basically, it’s what you could call the “liquid” half of “Liquid Glass…”
Liquid UIs don’t work consistently yet, but in theory, they make a lot of sense. Perhaps more problematic for Apple is the “glass” part. At launch, critics pointed out two issues. The first was that it failed to add new functionality to the phone. The second was more ironic: Glass’s fatal flaw is the clarity with which it depicts information.
Legibility is still of concern to every UX specialist I talked to for this piece. They flagged that Liquid Glass presents a significant challenge to cognitive load and creates accessibility issues where there were none in the OS before. In some spots, like the beautiful magnifier tool that helps you highlight words, the glass distortion effects are simply joyful. In many others, they muddle information and make it harder to understand what you’re looking at.
MacDailyNews Take: Liquid Glass is a six-month rush job because it’s meant to be a shiny object to distract from the current lack of Apple Intelligence innovations as that catch-up work continues, BUT, Liquid Glass shows much promise!
Yes, Liquid Glass sometimes presents legibility issues, but those can be solved and, likely, are being solved as you read this.
When, not if, Apple launches a Siri — or whatever name with which they, hopefully, rebrand it; “Siri” is just too tarnished at this point — that is not an abject neglected embarrassment (reportedly by WWDC next June, at the very latest), Liquid Glass will be much further along and a lot of the current readability issues will have been tackled.
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It is pitiful looking, A19 suppose to have upgraded graphics, where is that power used? GUI? Nope. I miss the Aqua Jelly bean look. Linux had amazing effects a DECADE ago, Apple can’t implement 3d Motion icons and Screen effects that’ll blow people minds? Nahhhh. “Too Complicated” “Eats Battery life” “Slows the phone down” Bah.
I like it – seems fresh and clean…
Don’t mind, honestly. Biggest win for me is CarPlay. Biggest miss is the phone interface – I can’t find my contacts and favorites
Overhyped to the max. An assault on the eyes.
Obviously target demographic and focus groups were aged 8-12.
Impossible to take GUI/UX seriously in a professional work place.
Two thumbs down from 40+ y Mac user (first Mac was Mac Plus/Mac SE).
I recommend to turn reduce transparency unter System Setting, Accessibility.
it’s not too bad
AAPL experiences a Cracker Barrel moment as the Liquid Glass “Experts” are disappointed.
Once again AAPL hiccups…has trouble deciding between good, simple and enduring design, verses “nifty.”
The Design Studio lead was commanded to spend a few hrs in the AAPL Library and to refresh themselves with essential tenants of good design as heralded by Job’s, like:
Removing the unnecessary; Apple interfaces were designed to remove all elements that didn’t serve a crucial user purpose, creating a sense of focus and clarity.
and…
Form Meets Function; design is the core process that determines a product’s function, not a separate cosmetic step, emphasizing a seamless unity between form and function.
Every year Apple Debuts “Features”, “improvements”, “Upgrades” But the Next year these all Disappear. What the hell are the Programmers, Designers and Techs Working on? Seems like Vapor code. and They Are Just milking the time clock. Where are the new Apple Apps? Updates to Final Cut pro? Even iLife? Where? Laziness. They make BILLIONS and have Little to show for it. What’s the point of WWDC if there are nothing from Apple to contribute to it?
I’m thoroughly enjoying all of the improvements to the various Apple OS’s, so far its my favorite visual overhaul since iOS 7. I had the iPad OS 26 Beta for months but only on the Mac and iPhone for the past few days. I haven’t felt this good about OS updates in years, I really feel that Apple magic of not just being new for new’s sake but a sense of delight for discoveries. Note how folders in Tahoe animate to open slightly when dropping in new files, wonderful ✨
I have astigmatism and wear bifocals. My eyes also have “floaters”. The last thing I need is adding the effects of Liquid Glass. I spent at least a couple of hours trying to rid my iPhone and my M1 Macbook Pro of LG. Instead of a switch to Reduce Transparency, they need a switch to turn it ALL off. I have used Apple products for over 30 years. I like the new things they have added, but see no need for Liquid Glass effects. We don’t need LG to make it more difficult to discern images. It does not help you get your job done!
Oh look, expert opinions.
💩
Pretty yes, but iOS 26 broke the iPhone’s message app. One of the most well-used features is broken. When you mash the green Messsage button, suddenly the Black Screen or White screen appears, and the touch screen isn’t available until your 30 seconds of punishment are up. I am one of those die-hard Apple enthusiasts with the classic Mac.com email addresses. I used to say I never had a problem loading software the day Apple launches it with no problems… well
I like the look. But it’s buggy as hell.
Took a video the other day and the audio of an app (not meant to be running) was embedded into it.
Navigation is buggy, restarts routes, drops all signal to 3G even when 5G is available.
Copy paste into notes from ocr text in an image is broken.
The list could go on but I’ve got other things to do.
Can’t wait for the fast follow bug fix builds.
7/10