Wikipedia

Liquid Glass

For the alleged Roman invention, see Flexible glass. For the chemical compound, see Sodium silicate.

Liquid Glass
DeveloperApple
Initial releaseJune 9, 2025; 8 months ago (2025-06-09)
Operating systemiOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, watchOS
Predecessor
TypeDesign language
Websitedeveloper.apple.com/documentation/technologyoverviews/liquid-glass Edit this on Wikidata

Liquid Glass is a design language developed by Apple as a unified visual theme for the graphical user interfaces for its suite of operating systems. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Liquid Glass features a fluid, dynamic glass-like interface that reflects and refracts the background. It was introduced in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and watchOS 26.[1]

Principles

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Apple sought a new design language to unify the look and feel of interface elements across its devices, with their various window sizes and displays.[2][3] The company decided to move away from the flat design cues popularized by Jony Ive in iOS 7 (2013) toward more expressive, skeuomorphic elements.[4][5] It also decided to introduce a dynamic "material"—in Apple parlance, a visual effect that provides a sense of depth and hierarchy between elements.

The "material" of Liquid Glass combines the "optical properties of glass with a sense of fluidity".[6] It has translucent elements that adapt to their environment, refracting and reflecting elements placed behind them. Lighting and shaders are used to suggest clear or frosted glass; elements adapt to a light or dark appearance to make text and icons on top of the material legible.[7][8][9][10] On iOS and iPadOS, elements react to the device's movement with animations that suggest the movement of a drop of liquid.[11]

Apple's updated human interface guidelines say that apps made with Liquid Glass should show hierarchy between content and controls.[12]

Implementation

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Liquid Glass overhauls existing iOS interface components such as text, sliders, toggles, alerts, panels, sidebars. The material is integrated into various apps and system features such as the Dock, notifications, and Control Center; it can also be used by third-party apps.[10][13]

App icons have been redesigned to use a layered system akin to the one used on visionOS and tvOS, applying translucency and a glass-like shimmer effect, which also reacts to device movement, while applying greater use of gradients. App icons can adopt a clear appearance that make them look transparent.[14] Toolbars and other elements on-screen are no longer pinned to the device's bezels, but are separated into bubbles that appear and disappear based on the context. For example, the Music app's tab bar shrinks when scrolling. The new design also allows the material to change its shape and size, such as the text selection tooltip expanding to show all options in a vertical list.[15]

Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said designers used the company's industrial design studios to fabricate glass of various opacities and lensing properties, so they could closely match the interface properties to those of real glass.[8] He also said Apple silicon provides the extra computational power required to run Liquid Glass.[16][17]

In a video detailing the design change, Apple said the language was influenced by the Aqua design language of macOS, real-time Gaussian blurring in iOS 7, the motion in iPhone X, the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and later, and the glass-like UI of visionOS.[7][8] Liquid Glass has strong influences from "glassmorphism", a design style that became popular in 2021 in part by Microsoft's Windows 11 and its use of Fluent Design as well as Apple's own macOS Big Sur.[18][19] Many critics and social media users noted similarities to Aqua and Windows Aero, including glass-like textures popularized by Windows Vista.[20][21][22]

Reception

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Liquid Glass has drawn a mixed reception. Some reviewers praised the way it recreates glass's refracting and lensing properties.[23][4][20]

Others have criticized it as distracting, less legible, harder to use, and an undue burden on developers. Designers interviewed by Wired felt that the visual effects distracted from app content, and one said developers with smaller teams might struggle to meet the complicated visual standards set by the new interface.[4]

Some have said that Liquid Glass deviates from long-established UI conventions in ways that make Macs more confusing and difficult to use.[24][25]

Others have said it can make text harder to read. A designer interviewed by Wired said that certain elements were too transparent,[4] making text difficult to read in low-contrast environments, such as direct sunlight.[23][26] Complaints about legibility during the first developer beta release led Apple to adjust the transparency of Liquid Glass.[27][28] Developer Beta 3 made navigation bars and interface chrome more opaque, and subsequent betas adjusted system overlays and modal backgrounds. Some later builds introduced more user controls for transparency.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^
    • "watchOS 26 preview: It's the little things". Engadget. August 13, 2025. Archived from the original on August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
    • Cunningham, Andrew (June 9, 2025). "Apple's macOS 26 Tahoe has new Liquid Glass look, customizable folders, and more". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
    • "tvOS 26 is getting Apple's new Liquid Glass design language". Engadget. June 9, 2025. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
    • Cunningham, Andrew (July 24, 2025). "iPadOS 26 preview: The rare software update that makes (most) old hardware feel new". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
    • Stimac, Blake. "iOS 18 vs. iOS 26: Here's How Liquid Glass Changes the Look of Your iPhone". CNET. Archived from the original on August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  2. ^ "Apple's new Liquid Glass design is its biggest visual update in years". Engadget. June 9, 2025. Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  3. ^ "iOS 26 vs iOS 18: Is Apple's 'Liquid Glass' a true redesign?". AppleInsider. June 10, 2025. Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Rogers, Reece. "'Beautiful' and 'Hard to Read': Designers React to Apple's Liquid Glass Update". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  5. ^ Wong, Raymond (June 9, 2025). "Apple Ushers in New Glassy Design With iOS 26 and 'Liquid Glass' Interface". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  6. ^ "Liquid Glass". Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Meet Liquid Glass - WWDC25 - Videos". Apple Developer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Ulanoff, Lance (June 10, 2025). "For Liquid Glass, 'the most obvious inspiration was visionOS', says Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering". TechRadar. Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  9. ^ "Human Interface Guidelines". Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Adopting Liquid Glass". Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "Apple introduces a delightful and elegant new software design". Apple Newsroom (Press release). Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "Materials". Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
  13. ^ Peters, Jay (June 10, 2025). "Apple's Liquid Glass was a wild change to my iPhone". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  14. ^ "App icons". Apple Developer Documentation. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  15. ^ WWDC25 - Apple TV. Archived from the original on July 11, 2025. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via tv.apple.com.
  16. ^ The Wall Street Journal (June 13, 2025). Apple Execs on AI Setbacks, What Went Wrong with Siri and More (Full Interview) | WSJ. YouTube. Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved June 14, 2025 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Weckler, Adrian (June 14, 2025). "Adrian Weckler: Should you worry if your iPhone is too old for the latest upgrade?". Irish Independent. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Pero, James (June 9, 2025). "iOS 26 Might Be Apple's Riskiest Redesign Yet". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on September 15, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  19. ^ "Glassmorphism in 2025: How Apple's Liquid Glass is reshaping interface design". everyday ux. August 12, 2025. Archived from the original on November 3, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Pierce, David (June 9, 2025). "Apple's Liquid Glass redesign doesn't look like much". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
  21. ^ "iOS 26 liquid glass: Here's why Windows Vista jokes are trending". Hindustan Times. June 10, 2025. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  22. ^ Saini, Rajat (July 22, 2025). "No, Apple Did Not Copy Windows Vista with macOS Liquid Glass". TheMacObserver. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Perez, Sarah (June 10, 2025). "Love it or hate it? Apple's new 'Liquid Glass' design is getting mixed reviews". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 19, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  24. ^ Loyola, Roman (January 7, 2026). "macOS Tahoe's icons are a mess, but not the ones you think". Macworld. Archived from the original on January 12, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  25. ^ Engst, Adam (January 6, 2026). "How Tahoe's Menu Icons Undermine Usability". TidBITS. Archived from the original on January 8, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  26. ^ Encinas, Amaris. "What is Liquid Glass? Internet reacts to Apple's new software design". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  27. ^ Roth, Emma (July 7, 2025). "Apple just added more frost to its Liquid Glass design". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 8, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  28. ^ Clover, Juli (July 22, 2025). "Apple Improves Liquid Glass in iOS 26 Beta 4, Reversing Some Beta 3 Changes". MacRumors. Archived from the original on August 1, 2025. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  29. ^ Clover, Juli (October 20, 2025). "iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle". MacRumors. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
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