How to disable the 'glass' effect on iPad icons in iOS 26.2?

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 don't have or regularly use an iPad. While iOS for iPhone and iPadOS for iPad are closely related, some features can have substantial differences in how they appear on related devices.

If you are experiencing difficulty with the new Liquid Glass UI, there are other key 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 iPadOS 26. Hopefully, Apple will provide additional controls with which to selectively eliminate some 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.

As for the unexpected "coloured" effect that you describe, I suspect that you have triggered Siri - its activation being visually confirmed by the appearance of a multi-coloured border around the periphery of the iPad screen.

karen4123 wrote:

I have 26.2 installed on my iPad. as my 'groups' of icons are now much more difficult to read, as there's this strange coloured goop that comes out of one or even two corners, and thus obscures some of the icons inside! i love Apple, i have all their devices, BUT these 'clever' additions are just annoying and pointless and in the way of clear viewing. Does anyone else feel the same way? Might there be an option to 'turn the glass effect off'?

[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: the iPad's 'glass' effect

Read this doc by one of our fellow user Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Goop from corners is not a usual complaint about the Liquid Glass "feature." However, as for the icons, I agree the document that razmee208 has provided is the best action you can take at this time.

As the author's note at the top of the article states, read it all before acting.

Also note there is a link in the article allowing you to express your opinions about LG to an Apple employee. Apple won't see yout concerns in this user-to-user setting.