Im a huge iOS 26 fan, but Liquid Glass has totally ruined one of the iPhones most important features

Date:
Fri, 19 Sep 2025 08:40:38 +0000

Description:
Overall, Im a big fan of iOS 26, which makes Apples terrible new app icon filter all the more annoying.

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Let me start with the positive overall, Im a massive fan of Apple's new Liquid Glass design language.

Ive updated my iPhone to iOS 26 and my iPad to iPadOS 26 , and Ive honestly been shocked by how much I dig the new look. Thanks to livelier, more responsive animations and tasteful transparency and parallax effects, Apples mobile software feels alive in a way it hasnt since the skeuomorphic days of iOS 6.

Im still stunned by the way light refracts through this virtual material we spend a lot of time navigating UI, so having something beautiful, even inspiring, to look at really makes a difference. Liquid Glass is everywhere: Apple's new design language extends across all of its devices. (Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

I think something that most reactions to Liquid Glass are missing is that it comes with functional benefits, too.

I love the way the Bluetooth connections panel unfolds from the Control
Center on iPadOS, instead of taking up the full screen. The Lock Screen
keypad now glows when you press it, but also appears much faster if Face ID fails to register. And the glassy toolbars subtly magnify the text underneath the selector. It's all very neat.

Admittedly, it can be hard to read notifications on some wallpapers, and I wont try to argue with the reported experiences of vertigo and eye strain . Ive not experienced any of these side effects myself, but Im not sure if
thats just luck, or whether Im worryingly accustomed to looking at screens.
If youre struggling to get used to Liquid Glass, no worries feel free to check out our guide to toning down iOS 26's various visual effects.

Still, in general, I think Apple has smashed it. Apple is at its best when
its blending form and function in creative and intuitive ways, and I think Liquid Glass is a prime example mostly.

Unfortunately, the praise does end there. Despite how much I love the look
and feel of Liquid Glass, there is one change that makes me cringe whenever I look at it and that happens to be pretty often.

As part of Liquid Glass, Apple seems to have put a refractive filter on
nearly every app icon on the Home Screen. It seems that more complex app
icons are spared, for now, but for everyday basics like YouTube, Gmail, and Bandcamp, theres this new soft and glowy layer placed over the top of the icon. The new app icon filter is most visible on icons with a white
background and bright colors notice that the three third-party apps have a similar glow to Apple's own Files app (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Unlike the rest of Liquid Glass, this blurry one-size-fits-all filter represents Apple at its worst inaccessible, insubstantial, aestheticizing to a fault, and overly controlling of app developers choices. I cant imagine Google is thrilled about the iconic YouTube logo looking all smudged.

It doesn't stop there: we can up the ante to a point of true uselessness. Liquid Glass adds the option to change the color of app icons to clear meaning see-through. I tried this out for a day in the name of science, and found the experience totally bewildering. Even simple icons like Substack and Instagram felt impossible to find amidst the white lines and passed-through wallpaper. What are we doing here, Apple? These clear icons are impossible to read at anything past point-blank range (Image credit: Apple)

Ill give Apple a side-eyed pass on the clear icons, as these are very much optional and not on by default but I cant see anyone actually enjoying them in daily use, unless youre a digital minimalist who keeps just a handful of app icons on each screen.

Personally, Id like an option to disable the new app icon filter, and Id like it yesterday. More than anything, I want to be able to tell people that iOS
26 is the best-looking software update in recent Apple history but for now, this one change is holding me back from doing so.

Be sure to check out our full in-depth iPhone 17 review , iPhone 17 Pro
review , iPhone 17 Pro Max review , and iPhone 17 Air review and let us know your thoughts on Liquid Glass in the comments below. You might also like Finally! Here's exactly when One UI 8 will likely come to your older Galaxy phone or tablet I saw how Apple stress tested the iPhone Air and it was terrifying Xiaomi's next flagship has a second display on the back and you won't believe its iPhone-inspired name



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/im-a-huge-ios-26-fan-but-liquid-glass- has-totally-ruined-one-of-the-iphones-most-important-features


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