Apple fans slam change to iPhone app in iOS 26 as ‘just plain ugly': ‘A real mess'
Apple fans are divided over a surprisingly polarizing change introduced in the latest iOS 26 Beta: a redesign of the Clock app icon.
What seems like a minor aesthetic tweak has sparked a wave of online backlash from iPhone users.
3 Apple fans are divided over a surprisingly polarizing change introduced in the latest iOS 26 Beta: a redesign of the Clock app icon.
nikkimeel – stock.adobe.com
Since 2013, the iPhone's Clock icon has featured a distinctive white clock face against a black square background — a familiar and functional design that many have grown attached to.
However, the classic icon has been updated with iOS 26, which was unveiled this week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
It now shows an all-white background with added clock markings around the outer edge.
Though seemingly minor, the change has not gone unnoticed. Many iPhone users have taken to social media platforms, including X to vent their frustration.
'Am I the only one who didn't like the new clock icon?' one user asked, according to the Daily Mail.
3 The clock now shows an all-white background with added clock markings around the outer edge.
X/Apple Hub
Another was more blunt: 'Apple has made a real mess with this 26. I won't be downloading it ever.'
The popular Apple fan account @applesclubs posted a side-by-side comparison of the old and new icons, inviting followers to weigh in — and the responses were overwhelmingly in favor of the original design.
'iOS 18 can't read iOS 26,' one user quipped, while another called the updated icon 'just plain ugly.'
The icon update is part of a broader design overhaul in iOS 26, which introduces what Apple calls a 'Liquid Glass' aesthetic — translucent, dynamic visual effects that respond to content and context.
According to Alan Dye, Apple's Vice President of Human Interface Design, the redesign aims to make software 'intuitive, beautiful, and delightful.'
In addition to the Clock icon, other app icons have also received visual refreshes.
AirDrop now features a blue background with translucent white lines, while the Translate app swapped its black background for blue. Despite these broader changes, it's the new Clock design that seems to have triggered the strongest reactions.
Currently available only to developers, iOS 26 is expected to roll out to the public this fall.
3 The icon update is part of a broader design overhaul in iOS 26, which introduces what Apple calls a 'Liquid Glass' aesthetic — translucent, dynamic visual effects that respond to content and context.
X/Apple Hub
Until then, Apple may have time to reconsider — or at least prepare for more heated feedback from users who aren't ready to let go of their old clock.
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