{"id":1633,"date":"2025-07-10T02:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T02:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/?p=1633"},"modified":"2025-07-10T02:03:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T02:03:19","slug":"apples-liquid-glass-redesign-in-ios-26-is-cracking-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/2025\/07\/10\/apples-liquid-glass-redesign-in-ios-26-is-cracking-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s Liquid Glass redesign in iOS 26 is cracking \u2013 here\u2019s why that\u2019s a good thing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The (Liquid) Glass is half full<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/f6B4GEXrs85ouvvVKaK6m4.jpg\" alt=\"A screenshot of WWDC 2025 showing the redesigned iPhone homepage in-hand\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Image credit: Apple)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Apple has just released the iOS 26 developer beta 3 update<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>This adjusts the Liquid Glass design to make it less transparent<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It\u2019s not the first time Apple has tweaked Liquid Glass in iOS 26<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>WhenAppleunveilediOS 26at itsWWDC 2025 eventin June, the thing on everyone\u2019s lips was theLiquid Glass redesign. This has brought glassy effects to Apple\u2019s operating systems and has divided opinion in a big way, but the latest iOS 26 beta looks to have dialed it back significantly \u2013 and I\u2019m glad to see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to previous betas, iOS 26 beta 3 has added a little more opacity to interface elements, reducing their transparency in the process. Toolbars and buttons are now a bit more solid, making it harder to see what lies beneath them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That addresses one of the key criticisms of Liquid Glass so far: that it\u2019s too difficult to read top-level elements when text or images are visible beneath them. By adding more opacity, Apple has gone some way to putting that right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not the first time Apple has tweaked Liquid Glass. In iOS 26 beta 2, the companyreduced the translucencyof buttons and boxes in the Control Center, which were especially difficult to read in previous releases. There will no doubt be further adjustments before iOS 26 launches fully in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/detail-Apple-1746453-A2660\">Apple iPhone 13 Mini Replacement Battery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-little-more-legible-4\">A little more legible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/x7ViFdRZqoNSakgZEJ6UQg.jpg\" alt=\"A comparison between the Liquid Glass design in iOS 26 beta 2 and iOS 26 beta 3.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Liquid Glass in the Apple Music app. The updated version in iOS 26 beta 3 is on the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/PjAi9dmaXvV8pvY8p4VbPg.jpg\" alt=\"A comparison between the Liquid Glass design in iOS 26 beta 2 and iOS 26 beta 3.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Liquid Glass in the Apple Books app. The updated version in iOS 26 beta 3 is on the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m a fan of Liquid Glass, but I prefer it inmacOS Tahoethan in iOS 26, simply because the larger screens you get on a Mac versus an iPhone mean there are fewer overlapping elements, That enables macOS to avoid some of the worst legibility issues that plague iOS 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite iOS 26 beta 3 making things a little more readable, not everyone is a fan of the change. For example, writing on X, Apple punditSam Kohlwrote that \u201ciOS 26 beta 3 completely nerfs Liquid Glass,\u201d adding that \u201cit looks so much cheaper now and feels like Apple is backtracking on their original vision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&gt;&gt;&gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/detail-Apple-1745715-616-00107\">Apple 616-00107 Replacement Battery<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/GvRvUm7bEAAgr3b?format=jpg&amp;name=360x360\" alt=\"\u56fe\u50cf\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/GvRvUm4aYAEBZIk?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"\u56fe\u50cf\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/GvRvUniWEAE4Mxl?format=jpg&amp;name=small\" alt=\"\u56fe\u50cf\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/GvRvUnfWUAAQR9u?format=jpg&amp;name=360x360\" alt=\"\u56fe\u50cf\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With plenty of time until the full release of iOS 26, we can expect Apple to make more changes as the year progresses. Hopefully, that will give it time to get Liquid Glass right \u2013 or at least make it a little more legible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The (Liquid) Glass is half full (Image credit: Apple) WhenAppleunveilediOS 26at itsWWDC 2025 eventin June, the thing on everyone\u2019s lips was theLiquid Glass redesign. This has brought glassy effects to Apple\u2019s operating systems and has divided opinion in a big way, but the latest iOS 26 beta looks to have dialed it back significantly \u2013 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/2025\/07\/10\/apples-liquid-glass-redesign-in-ios-26-is-cracking-heres-why-thats-a-good-thing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Apple\u2019s Liquid Glass redesign in iOS 26 is cracking \u2013 here\u2019s why that\u2019s a good thing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1634,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions\/1634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.batterymap.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}