What is Liquid Glass? Internet reacts to Apple's new software design
Some social media users have been quick to criticize or poke fun at the "beautiful, new" software design for iOS 26, which was unveiled at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, an annual information technology conference hosted by the tech juggernaut.
The design, dubbed Liquid Glass, was crafted with a "translucent material [that] reflects and refracts its surroundings, while dynamically transforming to help bring greater focus to content," Apple said in a news release.
Alan Dye, Apple's vice president of Human Interface Design, called the iOS 26 rollout the company's "broadest software design update ever."
'It combines the optical qualities of glass with a fluidity only Apple can achieve, as it transforms depending on your content or context," said Dye in a statement.
Here's what to know about Liquid Glass, and what people are saying about it.
Liquid Glass is a new software design, or aesthetic, described by Apple CEO Tim Cook as "Expressive. Delightful. But still instantly familiar." Cook grew up in Robertsdale, Alabama, and is an Auburn University graduate.
According to Apple, the "look" makes apps and system experiences more expressive and delightful while being instantly familiar. It is translucent and behaves like glass in the real world and its color is informed by surrounding content and intelligently adapts between light and dark environments.
The new design, unlike previous iterations, will extend across platforms, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26 and watchOS 26.
Many people like the idea of Apple's "Liquid Glass," but the execution, not as much. Some of the most prominent concerns include the readability of notifications and the distortion to the image behind the squiggly, bubble-shaped app outline.
"The new liquid glass looks abysmal and is a perfect example of focusing on form/prettiness/design over of functionality/readability/practicality like, what are we doing here," an X user wrote in a June 9 post.
Some have also speculated the new design would not have passed the sniff test of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
"Steve Jobs had very famously said that design was how it works, not how it looks...his thoughts on liquid glass would have been interesting," one user wrote, referencing a famous quote from the founder.
Others, still, felt that Apple completely missed the mark by offering the "liquid glass display" instead of revisiting the AI upgrades unveiled at last year's WWDC.
Memes, critiques and threads have surfaced on social in the wake of Apple's announcement. See a compilation of posts made about "Liquid Glass" below:
Contributing: James Powel and Mike Snider, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is Liquid Glass? New Apple iPhone aesthetic sparks discussion
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