How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?

amdc101 wrote:

There is a serious issue around accessibility with the Liquid Glass display, it’s not just an aesthetic issue. I do personally think it’s an unnecessary overlay, and don’t like it, but part of that is that I work for a charity for blind people and in terms of apples usual excellence with accessibility this is a huge fail.

iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly charges the appearance of Liquid Glass:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted

Sadly, for iPad, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass - an issue that is often not understood by those that have perfect eyesight.

If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are other settings that can significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:

1. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
2. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
3. Settings > Accessibility > [Motion] Reduce Motion - set to ON

Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.

I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.

NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.

Liquid Glass is here to stay - and will likely evolve throughout the lifespan of iOS/iPadOS 26. Hopefully, Apple will provide additional controls over time with which to selectively eliminate aspects of the new UI to better meet the functional and visual needs of the wider user population. Liquid Glass is very "pretty" - but for some is arguably form over function, reducing legibility and usability for some users.

You - and anyone else that has an issue with the Liquid Glass implementation - should submit constructive comments via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPhone:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Every Report counts.

You have to fix this and let us take off Liquid Glass.

1. There is nothing to fix.

2. This is a user to user forum, Apple is not here

There are 29 pages of answers which you obviously didn't read before posting another "me too" answer so I'll make it easy for you. Read the following information to help with your issue -

Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

If you still want to let Apple know, go here -

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

kellytinck wrote:

My eyes literally cant take it,since the update and new phone i noticed the strain straight away, i wear glasses now and this is the first time since i was a teenager in considering buying a different phone actually feel like it’s wrecking my eyes

This is a long discussion thread, of which you may have tired reading to find effective advice. Sadly, some users with certain [potentially undiagnosed] eyesight or neurological conditions have difficulties with the new Liquid Glass user interface.

iOS/iPadOS 26.1 introduced a new setting that subtly changes the appearance of Liquid Glass:

Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass - select Clear or Tinted

Sadly, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass - issues that are often not understood by those that have "normal" or optically corrected eyesight.

If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are settings that can significantly improve the appearance and suppress the majority of unwanted effects:

1. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
2. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
3. Settings > Accessibility > [Motion] Reduce Motion - set to ON

Each if these settings can be used individually, or in combination. Setting Reduce Transparency alone (1) will likely suppress the majority of your issues. The Reduce Motion setting (3), if used, will eliminate the "lensing" effects of the Liquid Glass UI. Experiment; you should find a combination that works for you.

I suggest that you begin with setting Reduce Transparency to ON - and then, if needed, experiment with additional use of one or more of the other options.

NB: The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.

The new Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass setting can only be changed/toggled while Reduce Transparency is set to OFF. You might find that setting Liquid Glass to Clear, prior to enabling Reduced Transparency to ON, may give the best result.

Liquid Glass is here to stay - and will likely evolve throughout the lifespan of iOS/iPadOS 26. Hopefully, Apple will provide additional controls over time with which to selectively eliminate aspects of the new UI to better meet the functional and visual needs of the wider user population. Liquid Glass is very "pretty" - but for some is arguably form over function, reducing legibility and usability for some users.

You - and anyone else that has an issue with the Liquid Glass implementation - should submit constructive comments via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPhone:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

karen-maven wrote:

Thank you for the link to the feedback form. I sent mine in today. It was this: "My eyes strain constantly from the liquid glass effect. I've used every accessibility setting available to reduce this but it's not enough. I can't possibly tell you the level of disgust and frustration from this without using profanity. It's miserable to the point that I am shopping for an Android phone, which is something I thought I would never do.

I don't want my phone's OS to entertain, I need it to function and perform at a high level to make my tasks easier and more efficient. This iOS has made things harder, so much harder.

Please remove it or provide a way to disable it completely. The essence of my difficulties have been captured in this thread: How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26? - Apple Community

Please pay attention to the feedback and release a version that people can use."

Did you try the suggestions in this user tip? --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community It would be pretty hard not to be able to adjust your phone to better meet your needs if you actually tried what is detailed in the link. If you read the link you'd understand why Apple won't turn off or remove Liquid Glass. So you need to use the setting options available to you. Or you can buy something else, but assuming it would be an Android, you'll be hugely disappointed as Android is rolling out Material Design 3, which incorporates many of the same design elements.

fluxappeal wrote:

Not wallpaper, a screenshot of what appears when I pull down. It's my lock screen content + notifications being overlaid on top of my whatever app or icons are there. Here's another with LinkedIn app open

Okay. I was able to somewhat reproduce that by pulling down very slowly on the Notification Center. However, the moment I lift up my finger, the Home Screen disappears. If your Home Screen is not disappearing behind the Notification screen, there's something wrong.

I'd start by doing a forced restart.

Restart your iPhone - Apple Support

I just discovered that reducing motion (Settings -> Accessibility -> Motion -> Reduce Motion) eliminates that weird glass distortion effect when you swipe to unlock!

LeoLee10 wrote:

I wish you could have the option to turn OFF the Liquid Glass completely.

Let Apple know. "Wishing" for something is not a good strategy and they won't read your post here.

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

It appears you are using a screenshot of your iPhone home page as your Lock Screen Wallpaper? Why? I'd recommend you change your Lock Screen Wallpaper and then read this user tip to learn about all the ways you can adjust Liquid Glass --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Emi055 wrote:

I agree. I hate the glass and want it gone now. It’s so difficult for me to even see the time because I’m half blind.

please Apple, take the glass away! I’m so serious that I would consider an android at this point,

You aren't speaking with Apple here. This is a user to user only forum. And no one here works for Apple.

If you don't like Liquid Glass and you feel an Android will be better for you, by all means go buy one. As users only, it doesn't matter to any of us what phone you choose.

But if you want to perhaps take the time to adjust what you can adjust in Liquid Glass to better meet your needs, I wrote this, which you might want to read --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

I’m doubting this. I’m being as friendly as possible when I ask if you have a source for your first point. Even if it's small, to have a device update elements of UI based on the background element and apply effects based on the background, of course it would cause a device to slow down. There's obviously more processing as opposed to flat ui so it will create more tasks for the processors which can delay tasks, causing hangs.

pavementjim wrote:

Liquid glass is awful. I would strongly recommend a full switch off mode in the next update. For both desktop and iphone. It is beyond disgusting. It’s offensive. It’s like a kids toy interface. My first computer!

If you had bothered to read past the first post, you'd have known you aren't writing anyone from Apple here. This is a user to user only forum, which no one from Apple reads for user feedback.

You can tell Apple what you want here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I wouldn't hold your breath if I were you. And you'd also understand an on/off switch is not exactly feasible had you read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

To reduce Liquid Glass, I went into accessibility and chose display and text size and turned on reduce transparency. It helped me a lot. Hope it works for you too.

George_Lampropoulos wrote:

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)

There's an old saying........."Don't cut off your nose to spite your face." So, you'll never ever update again, right? That's not really sustainable, and you'll ultimately wind up with a device which is vulnerable to security issues. And you'll wind up with apps at some point, which will no longer be supported on the iOS version you intend to freeze yourself at. But if this is the right solution for you, good for you.

Spinoza_Ed wrote:

I think liquid glass is awful. Reducing transparency helped some but it is still awful. I am writing messages with another message showing up underneath. It is distracting and I think it is ugly. Asking Apple for a feature to completely disable what I think is a total mess.

You're not writing anyone at Apple, by posting here. This is a user to user only forum, which Apple neither participates nor reads for user feedback.

You can use this link to share your thoughts with Apple, but I wouldn't expect Apple to disable a key feature of iOS, which is hard coded throughout the entire operating system --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

You might want to read this all the way through and make adjustments, which may better meet your needs --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

No off switch. Very upsetting I want an off switch so bad but apparently Apple said no cause Liquid Glass is “hard coded into the OS” like man… at least let us downgrade or something idk I’m just so desperate to get this thing gone. You don’t understand how close I am to switching to samsung