Apple’s New Glass Design: Designer Reactions
Apple’s iOS 26 introduces a “Liquid Glass” interface, a dramatically new translucent design shift from the tech giant, currently in developer beta. Expect a public beta next month, featuring frosted glass aesthetics across app icons, menus, and more that allow blurred background colors to show through. Inspired by the Apple Vision Pro headset, this change is set to reshape the entire device ecosystem. Design-focused developers are cautiously optimistic, raising questions over readability as the new design rolls out. Some developers have already voiced concerns,while others are excited to see what the new interface brings. News Directory 3 has the scoop,and with the public beta on the horizon,we have the full story. Discover what’s next for Apple’s evolving user experience!
apple Unveils iOS 26 With New Liquid Glass Interface
Updated June 10, 2025
Apple’s latest iOS 26 update, dubbed “Liquid Glass,” is now available for developers to test, promising a meaningful shift in user interface design. A public beta is slated for release next month. This marks Apple’s first major interface overhaul in a decade, introducing a frosted glass aesthetic to app icons, buttons, menus, and pop-ups, allowing blurred background colors to subtly show through.
The sweeping changes aren’t limited to iPhones. The glassy look,drawing inspiration from the Vision Pro headset’s operating system,is expected to extend across Apple’s entire device ecosystem,including smartwatches and iPads.
Following the WWDC 2025 keynote, some design-focused developers expressed both excitement and reservations about the new interface. Their primary concern revolves around how the translucent design might affect readability.
Allan yu, a product designer at Output, a workplace messaging app, noted potential readability issues. “it’s hard to read some of it,” Yu said,suggesting that increased blurring or background adjustments could improve onscreen clarity.
Josh Puckett, cofounder of Iteration, a design firm for startups, echoed these concerns. “Similar to the first beta for iOS 7, what we’ve seen so far is rough on the edges and perhaps veers into distracting or challenging to read, especially for users with visual impairments,” Puckett stated. however, he remains optimistic that Apple’s history of prioritizing accessibility will led to improvements in future iterations.
Serhii Popov,a software engineer at macpaw,the company behind CleanMyMac,is eager to see how the new operating system performs on Macs,especially in bright environments where glare can already impact visibility. Popov is enthusiastic about the “really fresh” look, believing it will enhance the user experiance, especially on iPads.
Adam Whitcroft, a designer at Owner.com, which develops apps and websites for restaurants, acknowledged the technical achievement of mimicking light refraction and dispersion. however, he expressed concern that the effect might be visually distracting.”If you’ve designed a UI that draws the attention of the eye away from the wider context, you’ve gone down the wrong path,” Whitcroft said.
What’s next
As the beta testing phase progresses, apple is expected to refine the Liquid Glass interface based on developer feedback, with a focus on addressing readability concerns and optimizing the user experience across its range of devices. the public beta next month will provide broader insights into how users adapt to the new design.