[Concept] A Slider to Customize Liquid Glass in iOS 26

Apple introduced Liquid Glass in iOS 26 and across its other platforms, bringing a fresh, modern, and beautiful new look to the interface. But after just two beta updates, Apple has already made some noticeable changes. Many users now feel that Liquid Glass no longer looks like what was originally shown at WWDC25. That got me thinking: maybe there’s a way for Apple to please both sides.

The Liquid Glass Drama

In iOS 26 Beta 2, Apple reduced the transparency of the Control Center so it wouldn’t blend so much with the background anymore. A lot of people said this made the Control Center easier to read and less messy. However, others felt that this change made it lose the visual charm of Liquid Glass and instead gave it more of a frosted glass feel.

At this point, we’re starting to see mixed opinions on how Apple is adjusting Liquid Glass.

It seems like Apple has been paying attention to the feedback online. In iOS 26 Beta 3, they continued refining other Liquid Glass elements, such as floating in-app menus, search bars, and tabs. Some of these now look more opaque, giving off a frosted glass vibe, while others use a dark overlay that makes the glass feel deeper and darker.

A Fix for Liquid Glass

As always, some people like the new look, and others don’t. That’s why I think Apple should offer a customization setting where users can adjust the transparency level of Liquid Glass to their own preference.

If you want better readability, you could slide the setting to the highest level, giving you a look similar to iOS 18 and earlier. If you’re bored of the usual Gaussian blur and prefer the bold, futuristic style of Liquid Glass, slide it to the lowest level. And if you want something in between, you could pick a level from 1 to 4 to balance both readability and visual appeal.

https://x.com/BetaProfiles/status/1946933856004882611

Apple has mentioned that Liquid Glass is rendered in real time on your device, which means making changes could put some extra load on the system. So I wouldn’t be surprised if applying those changes requires a quick reboot.

What do you think of this idea? Do you think Apple might consider something like this in future iOS 26 updates? Share your thoughts below :backhand_index_pointing_down:

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:+1:t2: tak yes

I really like the idea because I‘ve entered the public beta and expected more transparency. As you stated, it almost looks like frosted glass which I really don’t like

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Liquid Glass in iOS 26 Beta 4 / Public Beta 1 looks a bit better than it did in Beta 3, but it seems like most people still prefer how it looked in Beta 1 or 2. Beta 3 really turned it into frosted glass.

Maybe if enough people send feedback to Apple, they’ll eventually consider adding a slider for it :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: Who knows.

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