How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?

It's very easy, I don't know how people are missing this. Edit the wallpaper through settings or by tapping and holding your chosen one and selecting customize. Now tap the time and select "solid".

Edit: May only be on 16.1? From what I recall 26.2 is not released so it must not be this version

We’ve mentioned every solution we have. You don’t expect us to create solutions to software that we didn’t make, right? Animations can be partially disabled by reducing motion. You’ve never been able to change the layout of UI, that’s simply not how design works. Apple will not revert the change, make the right choice for you whether it is android or not.

17albinozebras wrote:

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

That's a good suggestion. I don't recall seeing it before.

johnmac7 wrote:

It's not possible to read the time on my lock screen due to the type being semi transparent. Reducing transparency has not impact on text, only on the background. The whole Liquid Glass thing is awful looking; it looks like something is wrong with the display, the app icons look like what happens when printing is out of registration. There NEEDS to be a way to turn it OFF!! Seriously, Apple, what were you thinking?

You aren't writing Apple. Asking what they were thinking is pointless here on this user to user only forum.

This will help you with the Clock on the Lock Screen and keep an eye out for the next update (coming any day now), which will offer even more options for the Clock on the Lock Screen --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

singerhayes wrote:

It's awful. You can't read the time if you have a picture set for your wallpaper. That's the biggest issue for me. I wish we could disable it. I can adapt to the rest but it's a useless feature. So much for accessibility.

Darker wallpapers, worked best with Liquid Glass. Perhaps just choosing a different photo as your wallpaper will help a lot.

This is how my home screen looks with a darker wallpaper:

KNA228 wrote:

Disliking the iOS 26 update is not about preference or "getting used" to the placement of new icons. There are real accessibility issues that Apple has seemed to ignore.

Have you given Apple your feedback? The more people who do, the more likely it is that there will be a change.

Product Feedback - Apple

Davescrownncoke12 wrote:

horrible idea for UI. Please listen to your users and give us an option to disable this and revert back. I’m sure your feedback loop is blowing up on this.

No one reading your post had anything to do with creating this. Nor can any of us give you the ability to disable it or revert back.

You can let Apple know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

See also:

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

Yohonlp wrote:

I am a person that has visual impairment and this new update has made it impossible. Even when I am seeing OK, all of the blurry looking little glass is not OK.

Please check this site for good tips on how to make Liquid Glass easier on the eyes. I found it to be very helpful.

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

1. seems like you have limited options with a wallpaper that is not from your photos. Maybe try all the other options from this person's post. failed to load asset popup once I tap on … - Apple Community
2. seems like you fixed it. this is not a place to provide feedback to apple
3. for better reachability. you will get used to it but you are unable to change it
4. this is a problem with whatsapp as it is not in other apps. please contact their support teem

summary - as discussed already, liquid glass IS the ui, just as the flat design was. you couldn't switch back to skeumorphic design in ios 7 just like now. you have options to partially disable it which has been said throughout this thread.

5 - you have been able to change this for a long time. navigate to settings > display & brightness > auto-lock and configure it to your liking. also ensure that low power mode is turned off.

again, your feedback on the KISS principle and "average people" is not going to be read by apple. i'm sure apple is aware of this. that said, simplicity is valuable but does not make a unique look for an operating system that users may enjoy.

iPhone14ProMaxVerizn wrote:

This doesn’t create enough contrast. Screen interface is still not crisp enough on iOS 26.2. I hate it!

There's nothing anyone here can do about the fact you hate it.

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

Aslyduckdog wrote:

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.

It's a good idea to check the date of the post you're responding to. You responded to a post from September 16th and the original post. By now and after 32 pages of comments and suggestions, one can assume the Author knows the options available to them.

Unfortunately the various settings many mention in this thread are band aid solutions that really don’t fix anything fully.

For me the worst time using my phone is In low light situations such as in bed with no lights on. Any videos or pages that have white seem to have the intensity amplified tenfold versus before iOS 26. I also notice a bug where even if I have my display brightness down very low, some videos render very bright. Such as scrolling through instagram stories or reels. It’s hard to explain but basically some videos are lower brightness like how I have the display set and then some videos that have brighter colors, it’s almost as if the brightness level of the phone triples for those videos. There appears to be something wrong with the way the light / screen display sensors perform ever since iOS 26.

Like many on here, I’ve spent hours attempting to tweak and alter settings in combination, by themselves, and all at once, and nothing has worked. I continued to have terrible migraine, headaches, eye strain, and even at times nausea. I have no prior health problems, and my eyes are 20/20 vision.

I truly feel my eye/vision is degrading since this horrid update. I’ve relentlessly dropped feedback on Apple’s form submission page, But still months later it is not working right and my eye strain and headaches have continued, with no health issues - only iOS 26 induced. If I don’t use my phone for 2 days it improves. If I switch to the iOS 18 phone I have as an older work phone, no issues.

fluxappeal wrote:

I haven't seen anyone complain about transparent overlays (see attached) - haven't had time to visit genius bar to inquire, but my overlays when swiping down are also transparent. Like many others, my eyesight is suffering because of this update

My eyesight would be suffering too if I used a Home Screen pic as my Lock Screen wallpaper. Don't do that and stick to one of the solid wallpapers. You will find it that to be much easier on your eyes. Just because you can do that does not mean you should.

fluxappeal wrote:

I often pull down to look at notifications while in other apps without having to stop what I'm doing, so while it does disappear on release, it's an extra swipe now + hard on the eyes. Restart doesn't change it, it's me who must effectively change my use of the phone to adapt. Thanks for confirming this the behavior of the screen now.

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

PhotosSSD wrote:

Agree. Looks incomplete and shoddy.

Tell Apple what you think:

Product Feedback - Apple

Enough to make me want to try a different phone.

No one posting here has any vested interest (or possibly any interest at all) in what phone you choose. You should always get the one that best meets your needs.