Level 1

63 points

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

Posted on Sep 16, 2025 8:14 AM

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LotusPilot

Level 10

321,782 points

Posted on Jan 4, 2026 5:31 AM

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:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Every Report counts.

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604 replies

Jan 17, 2026 7:34 AM in response to QuiGonJohn

QuiGonJohn wrote:

First, don't like Liquid Glass, but thank you for these tips. I tried several combinations, but the issue now is the TIME as it is displayed on the Lock Screen when you wake up the phone (tap the screen or press the R side button). It used to be Solid White. Now it has various amounts of transparency and even Reduced Transparency ON did not completely fix this. We did turn on Borders, which helped a little. Any way to get that back to a Solid Color?

Yes, you can make the lock screen clock solid. Read this, which explains just about every option you have with Liquid Glass --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Jan 20, 2026 11:24 AM in response to Twiscordia

Twiscordia wrote:

It's not even atheistically pleasing.

I like it. But neither of our opinions is of any particular importance in this user-to-user technical support forum.

You can let Apple know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Feb 5, 2026 8:16 AM in response to QuiGonJohn

QuiGonJohn wrote:

That's my plan for my iPhone. My wife got 26 a couple weeks ago and I wound up here trying to find out if Liquid Glass could be "turned off". On mine, I have disabled automatic updates and will hold off doing an update for as long as possible. Until it becomes such a problem that I have to. Like if some app won't load unless I update.

You can do that since it's your iPhone. But app compatibility is the least of your worries. iOS updates also provide security updates, which are far more important and by not updating, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to exploits which have been addressed in the iOS updates. That would be much more troubling to me.

Apr 15, 2026 3:02 PM in response to emcgowen

emcgowen wrote:

Every time there is an update I have to hunt down all these settings and fix them again to turn off the horrible Liquid Glass. Either Apple doesn’t do usability testing with older users or they just don’t want us buying their products. At the very least there should be one setting that completely turns off Liquid Glass.

You might be VERY surprised to know that many of the most senior members of this forum are in their 60s, 70s and 80s. I think Liquid Glass is terrific and since in my household, we are in our 70s, no one here has an issue with liquid glass. All of our friends, who are also peers in terms of age don't seem to have any issues with liquid glass. Also, Apple beta tested Liquid Glass with a LOT of people from many backgrounds and age groups, who did provide feedback for months before the official release of iOS 26. Apple has continued to make changes to liquid glass for users to customize the experience.

Instead of complaining about change here on this user to user only forum, tell Apple as Bob Timmons suggested. But change is inevitable and even Android has adopted many of the new skeuomorphic design elements of liquid glass with their Materials Design 3.

On a final note, I understand not everyone may love the changes as much as I do, so I wrote this to help people who can't handle change very well (which is actually sad, tbh) --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Follow the options in the user tip and also learn why a total OFF switch for liquid glass is virtually impossible and won't likely ever happen.

Katana-San

Level 10

102,803 points

Apr 16, 2026 8:25 AM in response to QuiGonJohn

QuiGonJohn wrote:

At the very least, Apple could make the further updates to v26 such that they RETAIN settings a user did. So people would not have to go in and change all the various settings that affect Liquid Glass (make it more like previous versions).

Hello~ Please let Apple know. Arguing the point here is futile.

Product Feedback - Apple

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

~Katana-San~

Kurtosis12

Level 10

80,292 points

Sep 22, 2025 5:35 PM in response to RaeRaeRae123

How do we request a change from apple?

You can make a suggestion to Apple here -

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Katana-San

Level 10

102,803 points

Oct 11, 2025 4:09 PM in response to Zyrcon8

Hello~ You need to let Apple know your views in the link below as they will not see them here.

Product Feedback - Apple

~Katana-San~

Oct 28, 2025 10:23 PM in response to GrBear

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)

Kurtosis12

Level 10

80,292 points

Dec 4, 2025 10:14 AM in response to Cabel57

It needs to be gone.

Then click on the link in the post just above yours and let Apple know. Complaining about it in this user to user forum accomplishes nothing

Mee369

Level 2

233 points

Dec 6, 2025 3:18 PM in response to GrBear

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.

Br. Bill

Level 1

21 points

Dec 10, 2025 11:54 AM in response to Asal19

Unfortunately, reduce transparency and increase contrast settings only somewhat mitigate the issue. Still hard to see.

Dec 15, 2025 7:48 AM in response to Sheml21

Sheml21 wrote:

Totally agree. Its awful!

Tell Apple:

Product Feedback - Apple

Jan 13, 2026 1:51 PM in response to GrBear

Perhaps have you tried solid black wallpaper? Works fine for me and the Always Dark icons look pretty cool... Battery behaves nicely.....

Rudegar

Level 10

184,648 points

Sep 16, 2025 8:39 AM in response to GrBear

try

How to reduce the Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26 | Macworld

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down - MacRumors

Any chance apple will give an ability to turn off this “glass” effect? : r/ios

disable liquid glass in iOS 26 - Google-

GrBear Author

Level 1

63 points

Sep 16, 2025 10:21 AM in response to Rudegar

Thank you. You get an upvote for helpfulness.

Unfortunately, these only somewhat reduce the visual issues and doesn't eliminate them. Many visual issues are baked into the base apps now, like messages and phone.

How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?