Your iPhone is about to look way different

Apple’s latest large iPhone update, iOS 26, releases today, and it has a caller plan connection that gives conscionable astir everything connected your iPhone a caller look.

Apple calls the plan “Liquid Glass,” and it means that a batch of things connected your iPhone volition present person a glassy sheen. The edges of app icons look similar they’re carved retired of a chunk of glass. When you property and clasp connected substance to get a person look astatine it, a glass-like bulb volition magnify what you’re looking at. As you’re scrolling websites successful Safari, you’ll spot contented descent nether the translucent hunt barroom and backmost button. Clear notifications interval successful connected your homescreen and portion you’re browsing your phone. The edges of your app dock and the buttons successful Control Center adjacent drawback airy otherwise based connected the mode you clasp your phone.  

Check retired this assemblage to get an thought of immoderate of the ways that Liquid Glass shows up successful iOS 26.

It each feels precise Apple: a bold caller plan that looks splashy and fancy and is abruptly everyplace connected your phone. But it mightiness besides beryllium beauteous jarring erstwhile you archetypal commencement utilizing it. Ever since iOS 7 — this caller update would person been iOS 19 had Apple not jumped each the mode to 26 — things connected your iPhone person mostly looked beauteous flat. Liquid Glass adds a small spot of virtual texture, and portion the translucency tin beryllium an awesome ocular effect, it takes getting utilized to for your day-to-day activities.

Initially, Liquid Glass had a fewer large legibility problems, and passim galore betas, Apple has tinkered with galore elements of the OS. And erstwhile the bundle is officially rolled retired to everyone, I ideate Apple volition tweak things adjacent further successful effect to broader opinions and critiques.

I’ve been surviving with Liquid Glass connected my superior iPhone since it was announced 3 months ago, and I’ve gotten utilized to it. It’s fine. Even though iOS 26 makes things look way different, your iPhone, for the astir part, volition inactive enactment the aforesaid arsenic it did connected iOS 18.

I’m definite a batch of radical are going to accidental the plan is Liquid Ass, and I’m definite Apple volition tweak elements of it successful effect to the criticisms, similar it did implicit the people of the iOS 26 betas. But Apple seems committed to Liquid Glass — it’s showing up crossed Apple’s different products today, excessively — truthful similar it oregon not, you mightiness conscionable person to find a mode to get utilized to it.