Learn about Apple's Liquid Glass visual style in iOS 26, its development, user reactions, and planned improvements for iPhone, iPad, and other products.
© A. Krivonosov
The new Liquid Glass visual style, which first appeared in iOS 26, has received mixed reactions from users. Despite criticism and some partial redesigns of individual elements, Apple is not planning to abandon this concept. According to insiders, the interface will gradually improve over time and eventually appear in other company products.
Development of Liquid Glass took several years and is considered one of Apple's largest design projects. It builds on work from the visionOS platform, which itself was long in development before launching in 2024. The scale of the project makes a complete interface overhaul unlikely in the coming years.
Bloomberg journalists note that company leadership supported Liquid Glass implementation throughout development. Experts acknowledge the style still has issues: transparent elements sometimes obscure text and icons. On mobile devices like iPhone and iPad, the design feels more harmonious, while on Mac and Apple Watch it requires refinement.
Analysts predict gradual interface improvements, similar to what happened after iOS 7 launched. Additional settings have already appeared in beta versions to tone down the "glass" effect, with further changes rolling out incrementally over several years.