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
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:
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:
Every Report counts.
jeffrey512 wrote:
Where is there any documented guidance that recommends to force restart your device after every update?
Amongst those of us recommending it, a hundred years of experience.
I really hate it also, mostly due to my vision this gives and effect of more blur than I already have naturaly. Apple, please consider not all of us are perfect vision 20 somethings.
UI responsiveness is now muuuch slower
Google keyboard is much like ios18 format. I find the keyboard is better than original & typing is more accurate. very similar to a typewriter, i.e. old school
I wish I did not upgrade to iOS 26. For me liquid glass is not an improvement. Please give us an update that allow us to turn it off completely. Thank you!
It is horrific indeed ... maybe they will bring an option to go back to the previous theme upon next iOS release.
There should be a switch to turn off the transparent.
There is no reason for this change and enough people think that this "enhancement" is just weird and is working against the users.
I feel like apple should have a setting on whether or not to use it
You can make a suggestion to Apple here -
My battery is draining so much faster since this upgrade and liquid glass
If you have a backup you can downgrade to 18
[Edited by Moderator]
Report it to the European Union Data team. It is more difficult for people with poor eyesight to use, and is thus discriminatory against age.
Wrong. Hopefully, you were not thinking about nonsense like an IPSW file.
Just updated my devices and I find the transparency makes reading and writing very difficult. I have done all of the suggested help options but just want my old settings back.
There is an option under accessibility to reduce contrast on my Mac but the slider is turned off.
What iPhone did you have before? You may need to reduce frame rate.
How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?
