How do I remove the liquid glass look from app icons on iOS 26?

THIS IS WHY I TURN AUTO UPDATES OFF. I WANT CHOICES. SERIOUSLY? You can’t edit Liquid Glass to back to default? I’ve had eye surgery. I bought a new iPad as a gift to my 69 year old self upon my teacher retirement.

[Edited by Moderator]

WhyITurnAutoUpdatesOFF wrote:

I agree it’s so hard for my 69 year old eyes.

Not hard on my 64-year-old eyes. It's horrifying to think that in a mere five years, I could be in your state.

I’m just about done with Apple going to communistic ways.

Do you actually understand what Communisim is? It doesn't just mean "things I don't like or approve of." It's an actual political/economic system. And, Apple, as one of the largest companies in the world seems pretty Capitalistic to me.

WhyITurnAutoUpdatesOFF wrote:

You guys don’t know what people deal with and now I hate my home screen.

No one participating here has done anything to your home screen so stop shouting at us.

Tell Apple what you think here:

Product Feedback - Apple

WhyITurnAutoUpdatesOFF wrote:

I agree it’s so hard for my 69 year old eyes.

[Edited by Moderator]

Maybe you should see an eye doctor? It's not hard on my 71 year old eyes or my husbands 77 year old eyes. And our two best friends are 82 and 85 and it's not hard on their eyes either.

Are you really suggesting you couldn't read the home screen of my iPhone and iPad, which by the way use the full effects of Liquid Glass:

And my iPad:

Perhaps you could read this ALL the way through and make adjustments which might help you --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

lobsterghost1 wrote:

Are you really suggesting you couldn't read the home screen of my iPhone and iPad, which by the way use the full effects of Liquid Glass:

I think your Home Screens look great! The choice of the Wallpaper has a big impact and is a users choice, but for me the darker/solid ones work better for those complaining of readability issues.

Geminikki,

Wholeheartedly agree with you- this update is also giving me a headache. It is simply terrible. This is horrible business practice. Sure, update the iOS as needed for security updates and such- but for something like the display and icon rendering, why not have a simple toggle to turn it on and off. Not every user likes this update (obviously), so to force it down everyone's throat is ridiculous. I know with absolute certainty that I will use my phone less, given this update, because it gives me a headache. If my family wasn't so wrapped around Apple's ecosystem, I would switch carriers. It is that uncomfortable. This graphics change is litterally that bad. Words cannot descirbe how much I hate it, but besides the visceral uncomfort when looking at it, the icons and everything are so busy that it is honestly mentally taxing to view. I guees it wouldnt be the worst thing in the world to use my phone less, but what a weird business idea... Using the Max Dalton youtube video helps, but it is still not the same. I simply hate it. Please Apple, let the users decide if they want this wacky way or rendering things. To each their own- if you like it fine. But don't force everyone to use it.

I’ve followed all the suggestions to reduce the transparency of Liquid Glass. The time display is still transparent and difficult to read especially in low light.

it really is frustrating to not be able tho configure our phone to be able to read it. Bad and not user friendly.

annieambo wrote:

I’ve followed all the suggestions to reduce the transparency of Liquid Glass. The time display is still transparent and difficult to read especially in low light.

it really is frustrating to not be able tho configure our phone to be able to read it. Bad and not user friendly.

See this and you'll see how to make the time display solid, among other options --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Jshuster wrote:

I found that going to Settings>Accessibility>Display and Text Size and turning on Reduce Transparency and also turning on Increase Contrast made my display look more like it used to, than just turning on Reduce Transparency

It's a good idea to check the date of the post you're responding to. You responded to a post from last September. I'm quite sure since this link has been posted many times in this thread --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community, the author who you responded to is more than aware of the options available to them, 9 months later.

If we are just talking about personal preference, I like it. With every update there are always some who will have a wide range of opinions on any feature or design choice, that was true last year when iOS 18 was released and every version before that. Ironically the posts are the same when looking back on this support site, where the user does not like it and wants to revert to the previous version, and now it is iOS 18 that they want to revert back to even though last year it was not acceptable. Stay tuned, the next release is right around the corner, so that cycle of posts is expected to continue where it will then be iOS 26 that some will want to revert back to.

In Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text > Reduce Transparency

This is one of the worst UI updates in memory. Apple needs to provide an option to revert to the previous style, liquid glass is awful.

Let me know when you find out

Thank you! This worked for me also. It’s not completely perfect, but worlds better for someone who doesn’t like change!