Is there a way to completely disable the liquid glass functionality on iOS 26? I'm not going to get into a lengthy diatribe over why it's awful, I just want it gone.
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 18
There's no off switch but however what I did is I went to settings-accessability-display & text size and reduced transparency and if that still isn't okay for you I would recommend scrolling down (same settings) and reducing white points atleast by 50% or however you like. It makes the icons less "shiny" in a way
How do we request a change from apple?
You can make a suggestion to Apple here -
Hello~ You need to let Apple know your views in the link below as they will not see them here.
~Katana-San~
Guys I got it:
I managed to clear it completely :
I went in a shop, bought a new iPhone 16. Disabled auto update on settings.
Now my phone is amazing again.
(I am being serious unfortunately)
It needs to be gone.
Then click on the link in the post just above yours and let Apple know. Complaining about it in this user to user forum accomplishes nothing
Thank you. You get an upvote for helpfulness.
Unfortunately, these only somewhat reduce the visual issues and doesn't eliminate them. Many visual issues are baked into the base apps now, like messages and phone.
GrBear wrote:
Thank you. You get an upvote for helpfulness.
Unfortunately, these only somewhat reduce the visual issues and doesn't eliminate them. Many visual issues are baked into the base apps now, like messages and phone.
That's right. There is no On/Off switch for liquid glass. You either embrace it fully, or you minimize it using the available controls. But completely disable it, you cannot. I have chosen to fully embrace it and I quite like it. But if I didn't like it, I'd turn on Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and call it a day as you can't get rid of it entirely.
Alpejohn wrote:
I regret updating.. it looks so terrible I might just get an android phone again. Not sure I will be able to live with this awfulness.
You've been told how you can minimize the effect. But you can't turn it off. And I think it looks great.
But if you feel you need to purchase an Android, that's just fine. No one here honestly cares what phone you buy. We're not Apple Support, so your idle threat won't go anywhere here.
Yep I’m thinking the same tbh been with apple since ibm power Mac days.
Why would they use a glass effect is mind boggling to me 🤯 it’s using more gpu power and battery life for an effect 99.9% your eye will not focus on when your moving stuff on a screen.
a flat matte finish would look so much more professional and we would get more battery life. Simplicity is key
Dark-star2k wrote:
Yep I’m thinking the same tbh been with apple since ibm power Mac days.
Why would they use a glass effect is mind boggling to me 🤯 it’s using more gpu power and battery life for an effect 99.9% your eye will not focus on when your moving stuff on a screen.
a flat matte finish would look so much more professional and we would get more battery life. Simplicity is key
It's not using any more power than non liquid glass icons would. It is merely a look which is built into the UI. You don't have to like the look, but suggesting it uses power nefariously, is simply wrong and honestly absurd. Keep in mind that after a major iOS update, battery life will naturally take a hit as our phones are indexing millions upon millions of bytes of data. And if someone has a LOT of data on their phone, it can be reduced for several days. Liquid Glass is not the cause of battery drain.
Apple recently published this on this subject --> About Apple software updates - Apple Support
In contrast, I LOVE the new Liquid Glass look. Simply LOVE it! Most people I know personally who are now on iOS 26 thinks it's really cool and interesting.
Of course it’s going to use more power you have icons reflecting and bouncing around when unlocking etc a static icon will use less power then a animated shiny icon , things are the same in the real world or physics, if something move’s more it uses more energy.
I've beta tested macOS and iOS 26 from day 1 ,all have fully indexed all my data on the devices. so there’s not the problem
As many people will probably be sending feedback asking for a feature to disable Liquid Glass effects, maybe such an option will be added…the more people sending feedback, the more likely the feature will be incorporated.
Dark-star2k wrote:
Of course it’s going to use more power you have icons reflecting and bouncing around when unlocking etc a static icon will use less power then a animated shiny icon , things are the same in the real world or physics, if something move’s more it uses more energy.
I've beta tested macOS and iOS 26 from day 1 ,all have fully indexed all my data on the devices. so there’s not the problem
I'm not going to argue with you. But I certainly don't agree with you. And even if it used a tiny bit of power, it would be so negligible as to be statistically irrelevant. But you can believe what you want. I suspect you'll be disappointed in the end however. Expecting Apple to reengineer iOS 26 to eliminate Liquid Glass, which is a fundamental aspect of the entire OS, which 3rd party app developers have worked for months to incorporate the API for the new iOS simply doesn't make logical sense.
It’s not about redesigning the OS it’s about making it efficient as possible but powerful for working with. To me it’s not even finished beta. Open any app and flick up to go to the Home Screen and you still see the pop in shine load up around the icon you opened on the Home Screen or go to you App Library scroll down as it scrolls press cancel top right button and it still stutters. Instead of the smooth fade back in. Try it let me no 👍🏼 for the time being I’m re installing 18.7 making apps for 26 will have to have a hold for me why they sort it out.
In addition to what is listed above by going to accessibility, I was able to edit my home screen to make it easier to see. Anything I can get rid of that Apple messed up, I will do. Some of the changes don’t make sense at all. They make it more difficult to see the screen.
How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?
