Max Headroom 
Apple’s new Liquid Glass design is the big news of the week, because it’s the first major design change we’ve had to iOS in years, and because it’s the first design that extends across all of Apple’s platforms. Liquid Glass is sure to evolve over the coming months, but we thought we’d share a first look for those who are excited to see what it looks like in action right now.
After updating to iOS 26, Liquid Glass is the first thing that you’ll see. The Lock Screen features a new Liquid Glass design for the clock (opt-in, of course), and the time is able to be expanded so you can make it take up more of the display to better fit your wallpaper.
Widgets that you have on the Lock Screen have the same translucent look, as do the quick access buttons on the bottom. Notifications are glassy and see through, and you can see hints of your wallpaper behind them.
Moving on to the Home Screen, the search bar, dock, and app folders are translucent. By default, app icons have a new layered glass look that gives them dimension, but there’s also a new option for “clear” glass-like icons. This setting turns your app icons transparent, and widgets too. So if you want the full glass effect, it’s available.
Control Center is entirely Liquid Glass, with see-through icons that reflect the color of the background. Liquid Glass elements are in apps, too. Safari has a new compact Tab bar that uses Liquid Glass, and it’s also in Photos, Camera, Mail, Podcasts, TV, Apple News, Messages, and more.
In apps, Apple has also tweaked the look of buttons and menu bars, making them more rounded, and navigation has been simplified. When you tap on some buttons, such as in the Camera app, it’ll expand into a popup Liquid Glass menu that makes it easy to see all of the available options in one spot. It’s a more minimal look than we had before, with more focus on minimizing the display space that UI elements take up.
Liquid Glass extends to iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. iPadOS 26 looks a lot like iOS 26, and macOS 26 has a translucent menu bar and dock background, plus it uses Liquid Glass for buttons, side bars, navigation bars, and the Control Center.
watchOS uses Liquid Glass for navigation and buttons, and there’s a Liquid Glass clock option for some watch faces. You’ll see Liquid Glass in tvOS 26 primarily in apps like Apple TV. Overall, the design changes are more subtle in watchOS 26 and tvOS 26, and even in macOS and iOS, there are places where Apple needs to emphasize and refine the Liquid Glass design.
This is the first beta, and Liquid Glass is still in development. There will undoubtedly be updates made before iOS 26 and the other updates launch to the public this fall, and it’s even something that we’re going to see updated for years to come. Apple says that Liquid Glass will be the basis for the next decade of software design.
This article, “See the iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design in Action” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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