Apple has released its iOS 26 developer beta 3, making further changes to the Liquid Glass design language introduced at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 that was held last month.
Liquid Glass, inspired by the reflective and refractive properties of real glass, was introduced across Apple’s platforms as part of a broader visual modernisation. The update comes after an influx of user feedback raising concerns over earlier builds making interface elements harder to read due to excessive transparency.
However, its early implementation in iOS 26 beta 1 led to usability concerns, especially in areas like the control centre, where the background was so translucent that home screen elements became visually distracting.
Apple addressed those concerns in beta 2 by reducing transparency in the control centre. Beta 3 expands these adjustments to other parts of the operating system – notably the notifications and the interface in first-party apps like Apple Music.
In Apple Music, the navigation bar now features a more solid background, reducing visual bleed from the underlying content. Similarly, notifications have had their background shading darkened, improving contrast and text readability.
While the latest changes aim to improve clarity and accessibility, some users on developer forums and social media reacted negatively and have noted that the new aesthetic feels closer to Apple’s earlier frosted glass approach, dialing back much of the dramatic transparency initially shown at WWDC.
As the software is still in beta, these changes are not final. Apple is expected to continue collecting feedback and making changes to Liquid Glass through the summer ahead of iOS 26’s public release this fall.
This has been an entertaining timeline, as Apple slowly walks back liquid glass into more… frosted glass https://t.co/hTh4TFKTqF
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) July 8, 2025
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apple stop ruining liquid glass pic.twitter.com/sUs0EILLAC
— Holly – I like tech (@AnxiousHolly) July 7, 2025
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iOS 26 beta 3 completely nerfs Liquid Glass.
It looks so much cheaper now and feels like Apple is backtracking on their original vision. pic.twitter.com/WNG8O2qjeg
— Sam Kohl (@iupdate) July 7, 2025
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(This article has been curated by Arfan Jeelany, who is an intern with The Indian Express)
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