...
...
Next Story

iOS 26 Liquid Glass UI for iPhones is no longer ‘liquid’ nor ‘glass’ after beta 3 update

Since the release of the first beta, iOS 26 has seen major changes, with Apple heavily tweaking the look of the new Liquid Glass UI.

Published on: Jul 09, 2025 09:35 AM IST

Liquid Glass did not age well for Apple. Last month in June, Apple introduced the Liquid Glass UI with iOS 26 for iPhones. It introduced a brand new design language for Apple's platforms, majorly focusing on transparency, refraction, and a lot of glass-like elements spread across the operating system, like the Control Centre and various buttons.

iOS 26 brings a major visual overhaul, deeper AI integration via Apple Intelligence, and significant improvements. (Apple)
iOS 26 brings a major visual overhaul, deeper AI integration via Apple Intelligence, and significant improvements. (Apple)
By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

Read moreRead less

After its reveal, many started comparing it to Windows Vista. Some pointed out that this was going to be a readability nightmare because the contrast level was simply not there, and it was hard to make out the text.

So, with the second beta, Apple dialled things back a bit and made elements a little more blurry to improve readability, especially with the control centre.

But now with the third beta of iOS 26, Apple has gone one step further and has almost made the Liquid Glass effect frosted-like. In fact, buttons and control centre all appear quite different to what they were in the original first beta.

This is what users are saying on socials

Many were quick to point this out on social media after experiencing the third beta for themselves. @Tech_Marcell, a user on X claims that this looks like a downgrade, and that you can actually see the difference.

Many were able to come up with theories as to why Apple is doing this. @iamnanyi on X said that Apple may have realised that Liquid Glass performs poorly on older devices, and issues like overheating and lag may have convinced them that reducing the visual effects could be the way to go for older devices as they are gradually phased out.

Another user pointed out that Apple should just add a settings section for the appearance, like light, dark, accent colour, motion blur settings, reflectivity, etc. so that customers can fine-tune their experience.

Couple of months to go before the iOS 26 release

MOBILE FINDER: iPhone 16 Price and More

 
nothing
Home/Technology/iOS 26 Liquid Glass UI for iPhones is no longer ‘liquid’ nor ‘glass’ after beta 3 update
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON