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If You Don't Like Your iPhone's Liquid Glass Design, Here's How to Change It

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Why This Matters

The introduction of customizable Liquid Glass settings in iOS 26.1 marks a significant shift in iPhone user interface design, allowing users to tailor visual elements for better readability and aesthetic preference. This update enhances user control over device appearance, potentially improving accessibility and user satisfaction in the tech industry and among consumers.

Key Takeaways

Apple released iOS 26.1 in November and one of the biggest changes it brought to your iPhone was a way to adjust some Liquid Glass elements across your device. This new setting could help resolve readability issues some folks on Reddit noted in iOS 26. So if you've had trouble reading things on your device and have iOS 26.1 or later downloaded on it, you should give this setting a shot.

Apple introduced Liquid Glass in September alongside iOS 26. It's the first major visual change on iPhones since iOS 7 in 2013. Before iOS 26.1, there were only a few ways to change Liquid Glass elements on your iPhone. You could add a dark tint to home screen elements or adjust the Reduce Transparency setting to alter how Liquid Glass looks across your device. But the new setting allows you to modify specific elements on your iPhone, such as your Notification Center and certain search bars, without affecting other elements, like your home screen.

Here's where to find the new setting if you're running iOS 26.1 or later, along with my recommended setup.

Where to find Clear and Tinted Liquid Glass options

1. Tap Settings.

2. Tap Display & Brightness.

3. Tap Liquid Glass.

In the Liquid Glass menu, you'll see two options: Clear and Tinted. Clear is the default setting and Tinted makes the Liquid Glass elements less transparent.

"Clear is more transparent, revealing the content beneath," Apple writes for the setting. "Tinted increases opacity and adds more contrast."

Tinted doesn't totally eliminate Liquid Glass elements in menus, but it does minimize the design's effects. Once Tinted is enabled, some elements and menus almost appear opaque, like the search bar in Messages, until you scroll over something colorful or bold.

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