Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” design for iOS 26 debuted at WWDC 2025 with a bold, translucent look that adapts to surroundings.
While Apple hails it as their broadest visual overhaul ever, online reactions have been mixed with users praising its sleekness but mocking its readability and practical usability.
Certain social media users have swiftly taken to criticizing or mocking the “beautiful, new” software design for iOS 26, revealed at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference.
The design, named Liquid Glass, was created using a “translucent material that reflects and refracts its environment, while continuously changing to enhance focus on content,” Apple stated in a news announcement.
Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design, referred to the iOS 26 launch as the company’s “largest software design update to date.” “It merges the visual properties of glass with a smoothness that only Apple can attain, adapting according to your content or situation,” Dye stated in a declaration.
What is “Liquid Glass” and how does it work?
Liquid Glass is a fresh software design or aesthetic, characterized by Apple CEO Tim Cook as “Expressive, charming, yet still immediately recognizable.”Apple claims that the “appearance” makes applications and system interactions more vibrant and enjoyable while remaining instantly recognizable. It is semi-transparent and acts like glass in reality, with its hue influenced by nearby elements and smartly adjusts to different lighting conditions, as quoted in a report by USA Today.
Why are users criticizing the design?
Internet responds to Apple’s ‘Liquid Glass’ Numerous individuals appreciate the concept of Apple’s “Liquid Glass,” yet the implementation is less favored.
Key issues include the clarity of notifications and the alteration of the image behind the wavy, bubble-like app border.
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The new liquid glass appears terrible and exemplifies prioritizing form/aesthetic/design over functionality/readability/practicality; what are we thinking here,” an X user commented in a June 9 post.
Some, however, believed that Apple fell short by introducing the “liquid glass display” rather than revisiting the AI enhancements revealed at the previous year’s WWDC. Memes, discussions, and critiques have emerged on social media following Apple’s announcement, as per a report by USA Today.
“So Apple’s next big thing, aka Liquid Glass, is random icon packs from the Android world,” one user tweeted.
“But once you put everything together and fill the screen, it turns into noise and makes things feel way too crowded, like the idea of liquid glass but the readability is not good at all,” another person tweeted.
One user wrote on X, “Apple trying to convince us they’ve done something groundbreaking by adjusting the opacity of the control center and calling it “liquid glass” should be a crime.”
FAQs
What exactly is Apple’s Liquid Glass?
It’s a new interface design for iOS 26 that’s see-through, shifts with its surroundings, and aims to blend style with usability.
Why are people making fun of it online?
Some say it prioritizes looks over function, making notifications hard to read and the screen feel cluttered.
