How to turn off glass display

soulan1s wrote:

I wish it was. Liquid Glass is really ugly.

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 iPhone, this new setting makes very little difference for those that struggle with both the appearance and overlapping screen elements introduced with Liquid Glass.

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:

1. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency - set to ON
2. Settings > Accessibility > [Vision] Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast - set to ON
3. 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, or dislikes, the Liquid Glass implementation - should submit constructive comments via Apple's Product Feedback portal. For iPhone:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

You can’t turn it off, however;

Open Settings ➢ Accessibility ➢ Display & Text Size, then toggle Reduce Transparency = on.

Also in Settings ➢ Accessibility ➢ Motion, then toggle Reduce Motion = on.

Also in Settings ➢ Display & Brightness ➢ Liquid Glass ➢ Tinted.

In addition, you can provide ⇢ Product Feedback.

If enough requests are made, your feedback might help with future development, like a toggle in the settings.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

omegaLighting wrote:

Ugh. Hate Liquid Glass. Strains my already tired eyes even with these tweaks. It should be an option, not mandatory.

Did you read the link posted above, which explains why it will likely never be an on/off feature on iPhone?

But you are welcome to tell Apple what you think they should do --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

max-headroom wrote:

You can do this with the shortcuts app;

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/4ed1bd9d-4898-4057-9ec5-85d1f034dcab

Maintenance and visual nightmare. Plus they still look glassy to me.

Change is difficult to adapt to because it disrupts our comfort zones, introduces uncertainty and fear of the unknown, challenges our sense of identity, and involves letting go of the familiar. However, it's important to recognize that change is an inevitable part of life, and learning to adapt and embrace it is crucial for personal growth and development. With time, patience, and a willingness to explore new possibilities, we can navigate the difficulties of change and find ways to thrive in new circumstances.

RebLC wrote:

The work around in settings slightly helps but it doesn’t hold. Each time my phone sleeps it reverts back to the miserable Liquid Glass.

You are doing it wrong then. Even Samsung needs you to follow instructions.

RebLC wrote:

I can’t stand Liquid Glass. It looks cartoonish and worse it strains my eyes. Blurry vision is real after using my phone. If an opt out doesn’t turn up soon I’m leaving for Samsung.

You didn't think that through very well. Android 16 is coming to the Samsung phones and has already rolled out to some and it has the same blur and transparency effects of Liquid Glass. The only difference is they call it Materials Design 3. Ironically you see the same posts over at the Samsung Support site where users are switching to the iPhone. That just seems to be a go to comment for some reason and is a moot point. For any user, I would recommend to choose whatever device they want, it makes no difference to us.

The work around in settings slightly helps but it doesn’t hold. Each time my phone sleeps it reverts back to the miserable Liquid Glass.

If you are seeing your Settings change after your phone "sleeps", then that is a problem that has not been seen by anyone else or even reported here and that would require further troubleshooting. As you can see in the posts here there are several examples on what you can do to reduce the Liquid Glass effects and they all remain even after a restart.

LD150 wrote:

Maintenance and visual nightmare. Plus they still look glassy to me.

Back in the day, I used to spend a lot of time customizing my Mac with ResEdit. I can't imagine fussing with icons now. Especially on an iPhone. Way too much fidgety trouble.

Settings > Display & Brightness > Liquid Glass. [Choose Tinted]

See the pic below

There is nothing else you can do.

If running iOS 26, go to Settings ➜ Display & Brightness ➜ Liquid Glass and select Tinted

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

Ugh. Hate Liquid Glass. Strains my already tired eyes even with these tweaks. It should be an option, not mandatory.

I can’t stand Liquid Glass. It looks cartoonish and worse it strains my eyes. Blurry vision is real after using my phone. If an opt out doesn’t turn up soon I’m leaving for Samsung.

The work around in settings slightly helps but it doesn’t hold. Each time my phone sleeps it reverts back to the miserable Liquid Glass.

Nu all means, go to Samsung it you feel it would be a better fit for you.

You can do this with the shortcuts app;