How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?
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
No.
Question marked as
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:
- Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
- Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
- 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:
Every Report counts.
540 replies
You can go to Settings>Accessibility>Display & Text Size and turn on Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast and that will do some, but you cannot "turn off" Liquid Glass.
You can ask all you want but it won't happen. Downgrading the operating system is not supported.
And there is no such version as 24 or 25. It made the jump from iOS 18 to 26.
This has nothing to do with the operating system.
WRONG
“NO”, I really hate that future it’s so annoying but unfortunately there’s no options to disable it.
iOS 26 can’t go back. Reducing transparency helped alot for the Home Screen.
[Edited by Moderator]
if you turn on your reduce transparency and increase contrast settings it pretty much eliminates the Liquid Glass look
margit85 wrote:
just want my old settings back.
That is not an option.
You can let Apple know your thoughts here:
Reduce transparency in settings !
Press on your home screen until you see the edit button at the top left. Tap Edit, then move the Widget and voila, srsly, you will have fixed your nightmare.
You can turn on “Show Borders” (also in accessibility > display & text size) and it’s still not great but it does get rid of the worst part of the “glass” effect
nflutter wrote:
It’s so ugly, prescriptive and not clean
That doesn't even make sense. But it doesn't matter what I think. Tell Apple:
How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?