What is Liquid Glass? Here's everything we know about Apple's major UI overhaul at WWDC

Apple

WWDC 2025 is underway, and Apple has unveiled a new year-based naming convention for its iPhone operating system: what would have been iOS 19 is now officially iOS 26, since 2026 will be the year most people are running the software. Alongside this change, Apple introduced a sweeping visual overhaul dubbed Liquid Glass (previously rumored under the internal codename "Solarium").

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Liquid Glass brings a glass-inspired aesthestic not only to iOS 26 but all of Apple's platforms. While on stage at WWDC, the company pitched it as a unified design language coming to the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Vision Pro, and Apple TV. 

What is Liquid Glass?

Liquid Glass is Apple's biggest design update since iOS 7 -- which famously ditched skeuomorphic features in favor of flat look. It layers semitransparent "glass" materials throughout iOS 26, iPadOS 26, MacOS 15, WatchOS 10, TVOS 16, and VisionOS 4.

Apple

The new design makes apps and system experiences more dynamic, all while retaining a familiar feel. On the iPhone, the new effects extend to both the Home Screen and Lock Screen. For instance, on the Lock Screen, the time fluidly adapts to available space in an image for a more engaging look, and spatial scenes bring wallpapers to life in 3D as you tilt your iPhone.

Also: How to install iOS 26 on your iPhone (and which models support it)

In Safari, web content now flows edge to edge, with a semitransparent tab bar that shrinks as you scroll and re-expands when you need actions like refresh or search. Similarly, in Apple Music, News, and Podcasts, the tab bar floats above content with a frosted effect, dynamically shrinking to showcase content and expanding again when you scroll back up.

What's new in Liquid Glass?

Rumors had hinted that Apple's next UI overhaul would introduce glass-like translucency. At WWDC 2025, those whispers became reality with the unveiling of Liquid Glass, a unified, cross-platform design language. Apple demonstrated how Liquid Glass adds consistent depth, translucency, and motion-responsive effects across its entire device lineup.

Also: iOS 26 isn't just about a rebrand and Solarium - here's what else is coming

Apple

1. Multi-layered app icons: Traditional flat icons are replaced with squircle-shaped glyphs beneath clear, layered "glass" surfaces that refract background colors and subtly animate when tapped.
2. Translucent panels and menus: Control Center, Notification Center, and app sidebars now use frosted materials. Sliders, buttons, and action sheets float over content with soft shadows, giving a sense of depth even on 2D screens.
3. Dynamic toolbars: In apps like Safari, toolbars become semitransparent and shrink or expand as you scroll, maximizing screen real estate while maintaining visual continuity with the page content.
4. Parallax wallpapers: The lock screen and Home Screen now support motion-reactive wallpapers that shift behind translucent widgets and icons.
5. Context-sensitive morphing: UI elements subtly reshape -- buttons lengthen, cards expand -- based on context (e.g., editing mode in Photos or expanded controls in Music), all animated with fluid, glass-like transitions.
6. Developer APIs: A new set of Liquid Glass materials and components is available to third-party developers, enabling apps to adopt the same dynamic translucency and motion-responsive effects.

Which platforms get Liquid Glass?

Apple confirmed that Liquid Glass spans its entire software lineup:

Apple

• iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and MacOS 26 adopt the same translucent panels, rounded corners, and floating controls. Toolbars, sidebars, window frames, and desktop icons all receive the glass treatment.
• WatchOS 26 gains more legible typography on semitransparent backgrounds, with watch faces and complications rendered on layered glass surfaces.
• TVOS 26 refreshes its home screen with frosted backdrops behind app tiles and a glass-style navigation bar for a more cohesive look with other Apple devices.
• VisionOS 26 builds on its spatial-computing roots by refining its floating windows and 3D iconography to match the new Liquid Glass style, unifying headset and handheld experiences.

Apple

Release schedule

As with previous years, developer and public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and the rest will roll out over the summer, with final public releases and new hardware arriving around September 2025.

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