iOS 26 Public Beta Brings Back Bold Liquid Glass UI—But Is It Too Much?
When Apple first introduced iOS 26 at WWDC 2025 last month, the biggest and most obvious change was to the UI. Apple introduced its Liquid Glass design language. The new UI featured a lot of translucent elements, which, while pretty cool in theory, were not so practical in real life. This led Apple to dial back the effects in the developer preview. However, the public beta of iOS 26 is out, and Liquid Glass is back in full force.
iOS 26 public beta brings back Liquid Glass
According to a report from PhoneArena, it seems that Apple decided to bring back the full effects of Liquid Glass in the iOS 26 public beta. We’re not sure what prompted the change, but you can see the differences in the screenshots below. The image to the right is the previous iOS 26 developer preview, while the image on the right is the public beta.
As you can see, it’s quite obvious. When Apple dialed it back, it still had some degree of opaqueness. However, it was much easier on the eyes. However, Apple has decided to go back to translucent in the public beta. In some cases, it’s not too bad. But in other cases, it definitely reduces and hurts the accessibility of iOS 26. For a company that prides itself in making its operating systems accessible, this seems like a step in the opposite direction.
It is possible that Apple never intended to ditch Liquid Glass. Maybe, for the sake of developers, the company pulled back on the effects, but it was always the plan to keep it as it is for the final release. Most people seem to like the new look, but it will take some getting used to.
iOS 26 is the biggest visual refresh Apple has done to iOS since iOS 7. After iOS 7, Apple made iterative changes and tweaks here and there. However, the design language remained constant. It is believed that the Liquid Glass UI is a hint of Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone, which, last we heard, could be a mostly-glass affair.
How to install the beta?
If you’re interested in trying out the public beta, it’s pretty easy. All you need to do is launch the Settings app on your iPhone. Head over to General and tap on Software Update. Next, you’ll want to choose the “Beta Update” option and then select “iOS 26 Public Beta”. After that, the beta will download and install and you’re good to go.
However, take note that this is a beta. This means that there are still some bugs and incompatibility issues that haven’t been ironed out yet. You might want to skip this if you don’t have a spare phone.
