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.
iOS 26 can’t go back. Reducing transparency helped alot for the Home Screen.
[Edited by Moderator]
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 !
How do you disable Liquid Glass?
Buy a Samsung Galaxy.
iOS 26 is one of the worst updates ever for UI.
“release needs to have a way to turn off liquid glass.”
it is not a skin you can turn off or change, it is written into the iOS
You had 5 weeks to test it out in public beta. Missed your chance. Maybe next time.
Dlira wrote:
You (and some others) have commented to a number of persons that Apple doesn’t read this website. I believe you are wrong - even if Apple says so. (If you were Apple, and wanted to make your product better, would you just ignore such a site? Probably not the best idea.)
Believe what you want to believe. But people like IdrisSeabright and other people who are higher level in the forum have the opportunity to interact directly with Apple through the forum and we DO know Apple doesn't participate nor pay attention to the posts in this user to user only forum.
If you want Apple to hear you, you use this link, where it WILL be read by Apple --> Product Feedback - Apple
You've certainly chosen a difficult lock screen wallpaper for Liquid Glass. Read this link which explains what you can do on your Lock Screen --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
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.
Along with some of these replies I went to settings then did this to revers the look of safari:
Apps > Safari > Tabs
From here you can either set it to the bottom or top centered depending on your preference.
ravenby wrote:
Please add separate toggle for icon shimmer/parallax effects to save battery without full Reduce Motion. +1
You're asking the Author of this thread, who is a user only, like everyone else on this user to user only forum, to make a change in iOS? You're not writing Apple here. Just other users like yourself.
Here is everything you can do to change the effects of Liquid Glass --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community
Anything else you'd like to see, you can let Apple know, using this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple
Cabel57 wrote:
This “liquid glass” display is terrible for somebody with visual issues. My friend cannot see her icons as well, since this update. I have tried everything you’ve mentioned, but it does not help. It needs to be gone.
Tell Apple:
Mee369 wrote:
Here is the simplest answer… You Can’t. But if you have IOS 18 backup(s), you can open Time Machine on Mac and select an iOS 18 backup, with iPhone in recovery mode.
Did you check your facts? Clearly not. Backups, no matter where they are stored NEVER include the iOS version. So, NOPE. Restoring a backup from Time Machine or anywhere will most definitely NOT restore a phone to the iOS version which was on the phone at the time the backup was made.
anandamanav wrote:
This was more of a feedback to Apple, if that helps as I'd also like to turn it off if it were possible.
So my question is whether Apple has any plans to make this theme an opt-out feature for users that don't like it.
We aren't associated with Apple here on this user to user only forum. We have no inside knowledge of anything Apple has planned for the future and Apple doesn't comment or participate here.
It's HUGELY unlikely Apple will offer an opt-out for Liquid Glass as explained above and is in the link I provided, which I hope you took the time to read.
How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?
