Some customers and designers are already panning Apple’s new person interface dubbed Liquid Glass, though it’s a bit early. There are causes to suppose it’d enhance — but additionally legitimate critiques.
Whereas arguably the working system design overhaul seems unfinished in lots of elements — notifications are too hard to read, after which there’s that monstrosity of the Management Middle overlay — what Apple has shipped to this point is the primary developer beta, not a last launch. There’s nonetheless time for most of the design methods’ present issues to be refined and corrected by the point Apple launches iOS 26 and its different OS updates to the general public later this fall.
The dramatic refresh to the iPhone’s look-and-feel was introduced at this yr’s Worldwide Developer Convention and described by Apple as its “broadest design replace ever.” Liquid Glass, the corporate defined, would span throughout Apple’s platforms, unifying the expertise of utilizing Apple units.
Impressed by Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional VR headset, Liquid Glass is so named as a result of it leverages the optical high quality of glass in its components — it refracts gentle and options translucent supplies. The replace additionally modernizes the working system’s interface in a manner that appears clearly poised to later lengthen to different units, like AR glasses.
Nonetheless, there are elements of the interface the place numerous components are just too arduous to learn — and never just for low-vision customers (or the middle-aged). Even Apple’s press release features a picture of the Apple Music person interface, the place it’s tough to make out the artist’s title in its gentle grey font on a translucent bar. That’s regarding as a result of it is a picture Apple permitted, which seemingly would point out that this a part of the OS replace, not less than, is completed.
Different customers are sharing related issues concerning the legibility of studying by means of their notifications on the iPhone’s Lock Display screen, the place, relying on the colours of your background wallpaper, the textual content turns into both simpler or more durable to learn as you scroll.
This problem may even be noticed within the footage of Apple’s WWDC keynote deal with, the place glassy notifications appear to require a little bit of squinting to parse.
As builders and different curious tech lovers started testing the preliminary beta, they realized the issue with studying notifications was even worse when the iPhone’s wallpaper was brighter, with lighter colours. Right here, the white textual content practically fades away into the background in elements. Possibly Apple helps us wean ourselves off our display time addictions?
The iOS 26 Management Middle can also be nearly unusable within the first developer beta, as there’s little background blur to cover the Dwelling Display screen’s icons and widgets behind the Middle’s numerous controls, buttons, and sliders. Certainly Apple designers don’t suppose that is the ultimate product? Why didn’t they not less than enhance the background blur earlier than delivery?
That is unfinished work that wants greater than a slight adjustment.
There’s room to criticize different decisions, too, like Home Screen animations that miss the mark — however these are possible unfinished. Or so we’d hope.
Regardless of its preliminary flaws, there are indicators that the up to date design system will obtain extra consideration to element over time, even when that’s not as apparent on this first launch as a result of its extra obvious points.
For starters, Apple’s icons look beautiful of their new glassy model (not designed by a marketing committee this time), and a few of the results involving morphing buttons are spectacular. Transferring Liquid Glass overlays excessive of the Dwelling Display screen blurs and stretches icons within the background as if an precise piece of glass have been being pulled over high.
There are different refined touches that make the design’s components really feel like glass, like the way the “Customize” button reflects the colours of the completely different wallpapers above it as you scroll by means of them whereas personalizing your Dwelling Display screen. The characteristic should still have to be refined, but it surely’s an instance that demonstrates Liquid Glass was not some type of rush job on Apple’s half.
Even Apple’s rivals have taken discover.
“Liquid Glass…I kinda like it?,” posted Nothing CEO Carl Pei on X, who not too long ago theorized that the way forward for smartphones will contain interacting with AI by means of the working system itself, not essentially working apps.
Liquid Glass appears higher positioned for such a world, the place the interfaces of the apps turn out to be the main focus as their icons fade away into the background — even, optionally, becoming clear glass.
In fact, there are issues that Apple received’t be capable to stability the iPhone’s battery utilization that its new eye sweet calls for — particularly on older units — however we received’t know if that’s true till the corporate ships a last model of iOS.
Apple, nonetheless, tried to appease customers’ nervousness on this entrance by explaining throughout its WWDC keynote deal with that the advances it made in its {hardware}, silicon, and graphics applied sciences have paved the best way for this kind of person interface.
Plus, Apple already affords a strategy to toggle off a few of its more power-hungry effects and motion to save on battery life, and that can possible be true for Liquid Glass as effectively.
It’s additionally value remembering that Apple’s final main overhaul of its cell working system, iOS 7, was equally unrefined upon its first release. The preliminary beta featured unreadable UI components and thin lines and fonts that led to some criticism about usability and type over operate. Over time, that design was improved, and now it’s considered simply how the iPhone’s software program seems — if it’s considered in any respect.
The identical will possible maintain true for Liquid Glass… finally.