How do I change the iOS 26 update back to a basic look?

Hi, iOS 26 and Liquid Glass are simply the design Apple has chosen to go with, for now. The iPhone User Interface has had several major redesigns in its near 20 year history. The last major redesign was iOS 7, back in 2014. We all somehow managed to get through them all. 

You may want to review the information in the article I linked to below. It explains the adjustments you can make to mitigate the effects of Liquid Glass that you’re experiencing. 

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

Apple’s installed user base is over 1.5 billion users. Making a single user interface perfectly compatible for every user is literally impossible. Apple will make changes (or not make changes) based partially on the feedback they receive through their official channel, linked below and good luck.

Product Feedback - Apple

You can’t turn it off or go back, 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! 👋🏼😉

I had the same and after two hours of adjusting things managd to stop it being disorientating: Go to Accessibility and then search every setting in there and engage all the settings that relate to "reducing motion", "prefer cross-fades", "replace items only using colour for definition", "reduce transparency", and "increase contrast", and then on the view change the "glass" setting to "darker background for icons" and this will

bring you back to 90% of what it was before - you cannot change the floating blobs that cover the text and images and replaced the neat menus and borders that were there before, but using the accesibility options at least ameliorates the problems. It took me two hours though to work it all out and test it.

therealchamp wrote:

I have a fantastic idea for your development team.

How about you make this an added feature that can be turned on and off. Seems to me that would be a lot easier and less time-consuming on everyone’s part to deal with a workaround! Especially your clients time in mind.!

You aren't writing anyone at Apple here. So your 'fantastic' idea is only being shared with other users on this user to user only forum. You are welcome to share your idea with Apple here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

But read this to see why your idea is likely never going to happen --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

If you didn't read past the first post, which it appears you didn't, you likely didn't see this on how to adjust Liquid Glass to better meet your needs --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

It's always a good idea to read further into a thread to see what might be available options to help you.

BigPoppi75 wrote:

I woke up to an IOS 26 update. While I normally like the changes, this one is not for me. The "Glass App" look is about to give me a seizure. I am VERY traditional and want a clean, basic look to my phone. How do I change this update back to the basic look? Is this possible?

Change is difficult to adapt to because it disrupts our comfort zones, introduces uncertainty, and challenges our sense of identity. It often requires letting go of the familiar, which can feel uncomfortable. Mental ageing plays a role too — it’s really a resistance to change, while physical ageing itself isn’t the issue. And just like in life, some things simply can’t be rolled back — for example, there’s no rolling back of an iOS version once updated.

Still, change is an inevitable part of life, and learning to adapt to it is essential for growth. With time, patience, and an openness to new possibilities, we can overcome the discomfort and find ways to thrive in new circumstances.

BigPoppi75 wrote:

I woke up to an IOS 26 update. While I normally like the changes, this one is not for me. The "Glass App" look is about to give me a seizure. I am VERY traditional and want a clean, basic look to my phone. How do I change this update back to the basic look? Is this possible?

Read this ALL the way through and it will help you --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

BigPoppi75 wrote:

Sincerely, thank you! I had just called AT&T for an appointment to trade in my iPhone for Samsung. With some small tweaks, I was able to fix everything that mattered. I work from my vehicle, in sales, that update was not going to work for me...Turns out, It is just fine. I sincerely appreciate you caring enough to respond. Phones are truly a love, hate relationship. With Emails, PDF, Quotes, and orders...That "clear look" was driving me insane before I even had coffee! You are the best! May 2026 bring you nothing but success and good fortune. I'd nominate you for Tech-Rushmore if there was such a thing!

You've honestly made my day! I'm very happy I was able to help you!

Happy Holidays, to you!

BigPoppi75 wrote:

Sincerely, thank you! I had just called AT&T for an appointment to trade in my iPhone for Samsung.

Mobile brand/model selection is an individual choice based on many parameters. Such as Money, Feature, Status, Aesthetic, Utility, User-Friendliness, Availability, Warranty Coverage, Service Support, Resale value, Technology and many other factors. Choose yours judiciously!

Thank you for the setting. It has helped a lot. Like the other poster, I was about to trade the phone in for an Android. I will say it did help keep me from doomscrolling because the new layout was giving me headaches.

I did post a feedback comment. Thanks for the link.

I have a fantastic idea for your development team.

How about you make this an added feature that can be turned on and off. Seems to me that would be a lot easier and less time-consuming on everyone’s part to deal with a workaround! Especially your clients time in mind.!

I quite like Liquid Glass, so it may not be an improvement to you, but then you don't speak for the more than 1.5 Billions users on the Apple Platform. I don't speak for everyone else either. What either of us thinks is immaterial as this is the design choice apple has made. See the link above for suggested changes you can make to Liquid Glass if you'd like to make some changes.

Since this is a user to user only forum, you can tell Apple what you think here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

lobsterghost1 wrote:

I quite like Liquid Glass, so it may not be an improvement to you, but then you don't speak for the more than 1.5 Billions users on the Apple Platform.

It is even more than that now. On the Conference Call last Thursday it was emphasized several times that there are now more than 2.5 billion active devices.

• "We are also excited to announce that our installed base now has more than 2.5 billion active devices, which is a testament to incredible customer satisfaction for the very best products and services in the world," said Apple CEO Tim Cook

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/29/apple-2-5-billion-active-devices/

Mac Jim ID wrote:

lobsterghost1 wrote:

I quite like Liquid Glass, so it may not be an improvement to you, but then you don't speak for the more than 1.5 Billions users on the Apple Platform.

It is even more than that now. On the Conference Call last Thursday it was emphasized several times that there are now more than 2.5 billion active devices.

• "We are also excited to announce that our installed base now has more than 2.5 billion active devices, which is a testament to incredible customer satisfaction for the very best products and services in the world," said Apple CEO Tim Cook

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/29/apple-2-5-billion-active-devices/

That's interesting. Though I suspect Jeff's comment also factors in. For example I have 5 Apple devices myself and the husband has 4 and we are just two people.