Apple Dials Back iOS 26 ‘Liquid Glass’ Design in Latest Beta Following User Feedback

Apple has released the third developer beta of iOS 26, significantly toning down its new ‘Liquid Glass’ design language. This adjustment comes in direct response to user complaints regarding the initial implementation, which reportedly made parts of the user interface challenging to read and contributed to visual clutter.

The ‘Liquid Glass’ aesthetic, first unveiled at WWDC 2025 in June, was designed to emulate the optical qualities of real-world glass, including light refraction and translucency. However, early beta versions of iOS 26 faced criticism for usability, accessibility, and legibility issues, particularly in areas like the Control Center and Notifications.

Monday’s beta 3 update specifically targets these concerns within Notifications and navigation bars of first-party applications such as Apple Music. For example, the navigation bar in Apple Music now features a more solid white background, reducing the previous transparency. Notifications also exhibit less translucency, with a darker background behind the text to enhance contrast and readability.

While these changes aim to improve readability, some users are now expressing concerns that Apple may have overcorrected, leading to a ‘frosted glass’ appearance. It’s important to note that these are still developer betas, and Apple is expected to continue refining the Liquid Glass design based on ongoing feedback before the final public release scheduled for this fall.

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