Apple is giving iOS its biggest visual overhaul in over a decade, and it’s called Liquid Glass. Announced at WWDC 2025, Liquid Glass is the new universal design language across all Apple platforms — from iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 to macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and beyond. It replaces the flat design introduced with iOS 7 and brings a translucent, layered interface that’s dynamic, adaptive, and deeply influenced by the real-world properties of glass.
At the center of the redesign is a shift from simple light and dark modes to something more ambient and reactive. Apple describes Liquid Glass as more than just a translucent UI. It responds to motion, depth, and lighting in real time, refracting the surrounding interface, reflecting color and content beneath, and morphing dynamically when controls expand or shift. Buttons, toolbars, sliders, and sidebars now float as glassy panels, shaped with the same rounded curves as Apple’s device displays.
On the iPhone, this reimagining starts at the home screen. App icons have been completely redesigned, now offered in standard, light, dark, and a new “All Clear” style, where every icon becomes a transparent glass panel. Widgets and the dock float above your wallpaper in layered, glowing frames. Notifications shimmer with depth, and the lock screen features 3D effects that respond to background photos and spatial context. Even the clock can resize itself automatically to fit better with your content. Album artwork can now take over the entire lock screen as a live, animated element.
Throughout the OS, interface elements now look like panes of real glass. For instance, in Safari and Music, tabs and media controls live in floating, translucent layers that shrink or shift to make space for what you’re doing. The Camera app, redesigned with this new system, lets you swipe effortlessly between modes with glass-like menu overlays that appear directly over the viewfinder.
Liquid Glass isn’t just a coat of polish — Apple is pitching it as the beginning of a new era of software design powered by the capabilities of Apple Silicon. With real-time rendering, specular highlights, and contextual awareness, it’s built to make the interface feel more alive without disrupting how people already use their devices. Apple’s tools allow developers to bring these elements into third-party apps using updated APIs, so the look will extend far beyond system apps.
This aesthetic carries over to macOS Tahoe, where the Dock and menu bar now feel fully transparent, letting the wallpaper bleed through. Sidebars and controls are layered with Liquid Glass as well, giving the entire interface a sense of depth. In CarPlay, UI elements are now translucent panels that let you view incoming messages and Live Activities without blocking the road view. You can even pin favorite conversations or reply with one-tap Tapbacks in redesigned message windows that float within the interface.
