iOS 26 is a feature-packed update, but the biggest change is easily the new Liquid Glass design. And the latest iOS 26 beta shows that despite criticism, Apple isn’t backing down from its original Liquid Glass vision.
The evolution of Liquid Glass in iOS 26 so far
Every summer, the same story plays out with Apple software:
Apple unveils its major new releases in June. It iterates on features and designs throughout the summer beta cycle. Then the finished product ships in September.
This year, that beta cycle has been especially fun as a way to track the progress of Liquid Glass.
iOS 26’s first two betas came with some small Liquid Glass differences, but mostly the same vision was in-tact.
Beta 3, however, had many wondering if Apple was walking back its new design before it even shipped.
Liquid Glass in iOS 26 beta 2 (top) and beta 3 (bottom)
Liquid Glass was dialed way back in iOS 26 beta 3, to the degree that some called it “frosted glass.”
But then beta 4 arrived, ultimately becoming the public beta build too, and brought the “liquid” back in a big way.
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