iOS 26 might be out in full, but that doesn’t mean we’re off the Liquid Glass roller coaster quite yet. In case you haven’t been paying close attention, people have had some strong thoughts about Apple’s redesign in iOS 26, dubbed Liquid Ass—I mean—Liquid Glass. Those thoughts haven’t exactly all been positive. As fun and interesting as Liquid Glass can be at times, it’s also often illegible and annoying with its lack of contrast and emphasis on “glassmorphic” design.
Apple has shown a decent amount of conviction in sticking with its choice, despite its very vocal detractors. So far, it’s stopped short of letting you toggle the whole thing off… a level of conviction that’s lasted until *checks watch* pretty much right now. In the latest iOS 26.1 beta 4 for developers, Apple seems to be toying with the idea of letting you turn off Liquid Glass completely with a “tinted” mode. Here’s a side-by-side of what Apple is testing:
Notification Center with Liquid Glass Clear vs Tinted in iOS 26.1 Beta 4. pic.twitter.com/9rO1JbO5LW
— Beta Profiles (@BetaProfiles) October 20, 2025
This isn’t the first time Apple has tinkered with the glassiness of iOS 26. In prior betas leading up to the release of iOS 26, Apple scaled back on transparent elements in software, seemingly in response to criticism over accessibility. However drastic those adjustments were, they pale in comparison to the new tinted mode, which looks an awful lot like iOS 18. Whether this is a win or not is dependent on your taste, but if there’s one obvious loser here, it’s Apple.
With Liquid Glass, Apple was clearly driving toward a uniform look across all of its platforms, bringing iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS, and watchOS together under a unified number (26) and a fresh, cohesive look that says, “This is a new Apple that tries things.” But the thing about trying things is that sometimes those things work, and sometimes they really, really don’t. If this latest beta is any indication, Apple is learning that the hard way.
Let me be clear: this is still a beta, so anything could happen between now and the release of iOS 26.1. That means you can’t go celebrating or decrying the death of Liquid Glass officially yet. That being said, the fact that Apple is even toying with the idea says a lot. On a personal level, I’m conflicted. I’ve been using iOS 26 for a couple of weeks now, and while there are certain elements that I find entertaining (subtle animations on the lock screen and yes, even some of the bounciness), it does feel like a drag when menus get lost in the text on a web page or when you discover that Safari tabs have been inexplicably hidden behind another tap.
I can’t say what was happening behind the scenes, but there are aspects of iOS 26 (glassy ones and non-glassy ones) that feel half-baked and rushed, which isn’t what most have come to expect from Apple. Frankly, more than anything, I find that lack of polish a bummer. I want to live in a world where Apple actually tries things successfully, not one where it whiffs hard enough to backtrack on what was supposed to be the dawning of a new era. The good news is, Apple has plenty of road ahead to keep trying new things—that’ll depend on what lesson it takes from the Liquid Glass experiment, though, and so far, the lesson seems to be, “Oh God, can we start over?”
