Can you change the icons on desktop back to the old style on macOS 26?

I'm vision impaired and was needing to know if I can make my desktop icons appear like they use to in Sequoia? I tried using the Reduce Transparency but it didn't help and Everything looks super blurry

Makes me feel drunk and reminds me of when Apple had Motion on the iPhone and people had to Turn on Reduce Motion.

I tried to adjust color temp etc. but it made no difference

This is horrible and I can't use dark mode and I think Apple made a mistake with this version of macOS. It reminds me of Windows Vista.

I can see this causing to people to have the same symptoms it has caused me and maybe even worse.


iMac 24″, macOS 26.0

Posted on Sep 17, 2025 8:16 PM

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3 replies

Sep 17, 2025 9:06 PM in response to Hoo63

Hoo63 wrote:

I'm vision impaired and was needing to know if I can make my desktop icons appear like they use to in Sequoia? I tried using the Reduce Transparency but it didn't help and Everything looks super blurry
Makes me feel drunk and reminds me of when Apple had Motion on the iPhone and people had to Turn on Reduce Motion.
I tried to adjust color temp etc. but it made no difference
This is horrible and I can't use dark mode and I think Apple made a mistake with this version of macOS. It reminds me of Windows Vista.
I can see this causing to people to have the same symptoms it has caused me and maybe even worse.


You can make changes in >System Settings>Appearance and compare your results:




for Desktop items you can increase the size, keyboard short cuts:


Command +

Command -


Change your back ground walllpaper to some thing that helps the icons stand out, for example some solid color(?)

>System Settings>Wallpaper




>System Settings>Desktop & Dock make some changes:




I don't see much of a difference with certain settings adjustments... (?)


Sep 17, 2025 9:20 PM in response to leroydouglas

Yeah, I let Apple support take control of my iMac and he worked with me for almost an hour and nothing we did helped. It was still blurry. When I look at my MacBook with Sequoia it's real noticeable between the two. I'm glad I didn't install iOS 26 as people are all over YouTube complaining. Adjusting color temps will actually make some apps disappear

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Can you change the icons on desktop back to the old style on macOS 26?

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