iOS 26 Liquid Glass Redesign (2025): First Impressions, Features & Fixes

If the new Liquid Glass look in iOS 26 made you cringe on day one, you’re not alone. Many beta testers (myself included) had the same reaction: “too much glass.”

But here’s the twist—after a few weeks, the effect fades into the background. The biggest iOS design refresh in years doesn’t upend how you use your iPhone; it just dresses familiar workflows in a new visual style.

So, what exactly changed, and how do you make peace with it?

What Changed—and What Didn’t

Liquid Glass is Apple’s new system-wide material and motion language. In practice:

Floating controls: Toolbars and panels hover above content, translucent and subtly refracting what’s behind them.

Morphing motion cues: Buttons and toolbars split, merge, or bounce to signal context changes (similar to Dynamic Island).

Simpler menus: Long-pressing now surfaces a compact popover with common actions and a “More” button for full options.

Consistent gestures: Swiping back works from anywhere on the edge, not just the far left.

👉 What hasn’t changed: app layouts and navigation. Mail still looks like Mail, Photos still feels like Photos. Your muscle memory mostly still works.

Why First Impressions Skew Negative

Three design choices tend to trip people up early:

1. Legibility varies — translucent controls sometimes clash with busy wallpapers or bright photos.
2. Discoverability shifts — actions you expect upfront now live behind a three-dot menu. That’s an extra tap until habits adjust (or until you switch back to classic layouts).
3. Motion feels loud — morphing, bouncing elements draw your attention until they become familiar cues.

Quick Fixes to Make It Easier

You don’t have to abandon Liquid Glass—just tweak it.

• Reduce Transparency → Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency for higher contrast panels. See How to Improve Readability on macOS 26 Tahoe by Reducing Transparency

• Pick calmer wallpapers → Darker or low-noise images keep text and icons crisp.

• Avoid “clear” icons → Stick with tinted/light/dark icon styles for better visibility.

• Use classic layouts where needed → Safari lets you restore the expanded toolbar, Phone can revert to old tabs.

• Dial down motion → Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion softens transitions.

Pro tip: If Control Center or notifications look “muddy,” switching wallpapers often helps more than any setting.

Where Liquid Glass Quietly Helps

Once the novelty wears off, several benefits emerge:

• Less chrome, more content → Floating bars free up screen space.

• Clearer state changes → Morphing toolbars explain what just happened visually.

• Faster menus → Popovers cut down on endless scrolling sheets.

• Simpler camera use → Photo and Video are always visible; advanced modes stay tucked away.

• Easier navigation → The universal back swipe is more forgiving.

Common Concerns (and Answers)

• “I can’t read the UI.” → Reduce Transparency + darker wallpapers + standard icons fix most cases.
• “There are more taps now.” → True in some apps, unless you switch to their classic layouts.
• “My iPhone feels hot.” → Normal post-update reindexing. Things settle after a few days.
• “Change for change’s sake.” → Beneath the new sheen are usability wins: more visible content, clearer transitions, and consistent gestures.

A Few Places to Try First

• Safari: Compare compact vs. expanded toolbars.

• Camera: Spend a day with just Photo/Video up front.

• Phone: Test the new unified view—revert if it doesn’t click.

• Lock Screen: Move widgets down and test dynamic clock sizing.

• Menus: Long-press in Safari, Photos, or Files to see how fast the new popovers feel.

Bottom Line

Liquid Glass is a material and motion refresh—not a functional upheaval. Yes, it feels strange at first. Yes, legibility can suffer on busy wallpapers. But with a few tweaks and a week of normal use, most people find the design not only tolerable but genuinely helpful.

And if you still hate it? Stick with Reduce Transparency, calmer wallpapers, and classic layouts. Or wait for iOS 26.1—Apple usually polishes rough edges quickly.

👉 Takeaway: Don’t judge Liquid Glass after a day. Give it a week, tune it to your taste, and you may discover it improves iOS more than it distracts.