48 hours into Apple’s iOS 26 reveal, and accessibility experts are already speaking up. Is Liquid Glass a top-shelf design innovation, or a glass ceiling for inclusive design?
Liquid Glass is Apple’s new digital material introduced with iOS 26: a reactive, translucent design that animates, morphs, and responds to your touch in real time. It’s visually striking, with glowing highlights and slick, glass-like effects that change depending on the content and context.
“Controls have a refreshed look across platforms… the knob transforms into Liquid Glass during interaction, and buttons fluidly morph into menus and popovers.”
LIQUID GLASS IS A NEW DIGITAL META-MATERIAL THAT DYNAMICALLY BENDS AND SHAPES LIGHT. – APPLE
Currently in beta and rolling out with iOS 26 later this year, Liquid Glass is already generating equal parts
excitement and criticism.
The Apple doesn’t fall far from the previous design revolutions
Apple has never shied away from shaking up UI design. Remember iOS 7? Some praised its minimalism. Others… well, one four-year-old famously
Liquid Glass may look futuristic, but it didn’t appear out of nowhere. A look back at the key design moments reveals how Apple got here.
