If you’ve just installed iOS 26, the first thing you will, of course, have noticed is the new Liquid Glass user interface. This has proved a somewhat polarizing feature, with some developers arguing it’s not yet ready for primetime.
It certainly takes some getting used to, but overall I’m a fan, and I particularly like some of the small but notable changes …
Liquid Glass
Way back in March, when we first heard that what we then thought would be iOS 19 would be getting a completely new look, I suggested that it would likely have a bigger impact than the new Siri. Little did I know just how true that would turn out to be!
Probably as many will hate it as love it when it’s first introduced, as that seems to be true of any significant change made by the company, but it will likely make more of a bang than any improvement to Siri the company may introduce, then or later.
In my view, the look and feel of iOS had frankly become a little boring. While Apple initially went rather overboard on the glass look during the early developer betas, the company did subsequently tone things down in response to feedback. That’s the reason it can look a little inconsistent at present, with a mix of clear and frosted glass.
For me though, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. For example, I find the notification banners cute while now still being easy to read:
I’m a really big fan of the subtle but pleasing 3D effects in app icons:
I could go on, but the executive summary is that while there is still some work to do, there are a lot of very pleasing small touches that really make the iPhone feel fresh.
Small but meaningful improvements to the UI
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