How to disable liquid glass in iOS 26?

potado_wizard193 wrote:

I do wish there was a way to fully turn it off.

It’s pretty and all, but it runs down your battery very fast and makes it slow.

Liquid Glass is NOT running your battery down, nor making your phone slow. When you install a major update, it can take a few days for the phone to index the millions upon millions of bytes of data. You need to give it some time for the background processing to conclude. Apple recently posted this about updates --> About Apple software updates - Apple Support

In addition after EVERY iOS update (large or small) it is recommended to Force Restart your iPhone. I do this after EVERY iOS update and never have any issues --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support

That only makes the background overlay darker. It does not get rid of the liquid glass effect. That also turns the phone into basically dark mode for your lock screen, and there is no way to make the notification color fill lighter. Horrible choice from apple in my opinion...

Try this to bring the Liquid Glass look back closer to what it was before the iOS26 upgrade –

Hold your finger on the screen until the apps get the “wiggles”

Top left, click Edit,

Choose Customise,

At the bottom, choose Default (far left option) as your App Style.

The apps will now be solid without the annoying refraction around them.

There is still some transparency, but not as much.

Apparently no one who works for Apple is likely to see posts in here and we should request the option to disable Liquid Glass on their feedback page:

Product Feedback - Apple

Also: Contact - Official Apple Support

Contact - How to Contact Us - Apple

I’m finding it way less usable as well, but at least I’m not getting migraines—genuinely sorry to hear that. For me, iOS has steadily gotten less and less accessible in recent years, plus I was honestly shocked at how bad the iPhone 15 camera is. I really don’t want to have to switch to Android, but 🤷🏻‍♀️

Martyn2605 wrote:

I have slightly impaired sight. The downgrade to ‘liquid glass’ makes an iPhone unusable for me, even with the transparency set to the minimum allowed. There is no ‘depth’ of contrast and the screen now looks almost uniformly grey.

Have you tried any of the other accessibility options? Have you experimented with both the dark and the light versions?

Accessibility features for vision on iPhone - Apple Support

Optional? In what world would a new design of an OS be optional? Why didn’t you research before updating especially with your conditions? There are billions of videos showcasing it.

The best you’ve got is reduced motion, which I assume you already have enabled.

rhodri80 wrote:

It’s not about like or dislike, it’s about accessibility and providing an experience everyone can use. Even with Liquid Glass reduced I can barely read the text with the effects applied, e.g. the “use passcode” on the lock screen

I'm not sure what value there is in telling only other users what your issues with Liquid Glass are. No one on this user to user only forum works for Apple nor has any way to change anything. And Apple doesn't read here for feedback.

Tell Apple what your thoughts are --> Product Feedback - Apple

Lemmony wrote:

I am having trouble with this new update too. I suffer from migraines and vestibular imbalance. This animation of the apps bouncing about and effects on anything I open is making me queasy. Will have to return to old iOS if they can’t switch it off for people like me.

Read this user tip, which explains how to turn off the animations --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with severe eye strain on iPadOS 26 just like many of you. I posted on different forums, tried every suggestion, and almost gave up on my device — until I finally found a fix that completely solved the issue for me. It worked 100% on my iPad Air, and I hope it helps you too.

Here is the exact 3-step method that fixed the Liquid Glass / UI discomfort / eye strain problem:

1️⃣ Turn OFF these Accessibility settings

Go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size

Make sure the following are OFF:

Reduce Transparency → OFF

Increase Contrast → OFF

Reduce White Point → OFF

2️⃣ Update to iPadOS 26.1

26.1 adjusts some Liquid Glass behaviors — this step is required before applying the fix.

3️⃣ The actual fix: Change Liquid Glass to “Tinted”

After update to iPadOS26 you will reach a new menu;

Settings → Display & Brightness → Liquid Glass

and select Tinted from there.

This instantly removes the harsh glare and restores a stable, comfortable screen appearance.

✅ Result

After these steps:

Eye strain disappeared

Text readability improved

UI glare and shimmer were gone

The screen felt like pre-iPadOS-26 again

I hope this helps some of you as much as it helped me.

Feel free to reply if it works (or doesn’t) 

Breathe20 wrote:

I put the background on my iphone 16 navy blue and this has helped the icons look clearer and more visible. Also enlarged the icons. I don't like the glass look at all, it's especially difficult for people with any kind of sight limitations. Apple needs to address this issue for people with disabilities and for anyone who wants a choice to set their screen to pre-glass state.

Did you read this and try the settings changes which are available to you --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Otherwise, telling only other users what you think Apple needs to address, will not be noticed by anyone at Apple from posting on this user to user only forum. But you can tell Apple what you think they need to do here --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

mcringor wrote:

Please remove liquid glass. Its too bubbly, to much round corners. The straight forward browser navigation and access is gone. Its horrible and looks like theme ios of windows 7 10 years ago.

No. No one here on this user to user only forum works for Apple. We can't remove anything. And you should't be expecting Apple to remove Liquid Glass either Read the thread. Or at least read this --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Bot69 wrote:

I just got the update. I’m very displeased. If anyone from Apple reads this: Liquid Glass is my final frustration. My next new phone is in 9 or 10 months. It won’t be an iPhone unless i can turn off Liquid Glass. I bought this device. And you changed it in an awful way.

Had you read much of this 22-page thread, you would know that no one from Apple is reading here. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I would note that, while the hardware is yours, the system software is not. The licensing terms you agreed to essentially say that Apple can change it whenever they want.

BaileyAndrusiw wrote:

The new iOS 26.1 update is absolutely infuriating. I have a hard time adjusting to change and not being able to switch the display back to how it looked before the update is completely inconsiderate. Please create a way to change it back to the original display for me and everyone I’ve talk to today who also despises this update.

in particular the apps opening and closing, I have turned off the motion and yet it does not change it back, it makes me motion sick.

No one here has the ability to do anything. No one here works for Apple or had anything to do with iOS 26. This is a user to user only forum.

Go through this ALL the way and chances are you can make some setting changes, which you can be happier with --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Dysfunctionalfarm wrote:

I don’t know but it makes me feel sick like if it doesn’t go away I’ll be switching to android if this is their new thing it makes me so nauseous

Android has adopted many of the motion options which iOS 26 now includes, so look hard before you leap. And this is a user to user only forum, so as users, it doesn't really matter to anyone here what phone you buy.

If, however, you'd like to make adjustments which may help you, I wrote this for people to see what options are available --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Adambagley wrote:

I echo the sentiment here, it is a very un appealing and any efficient design it has created plenty of issues for me personally.

Apple’s iOS 26 “Liquid Glass” redesign is a bad decision not because it looks different, but because it cuts directly against what Apple does best.

Apple’s core promise has always been effortless clarity. You pick up an iPhone and everything is immediately readable, calm, and obvious. Liquid Glass—by design—adds translucency, refraction, motion, and visual noise to core interface elements. That’s spectacle layered on top of information, and it makes the OS harder to read, not easier.

This is especially dangerous for accessibility. Translucent UI over dynamic backgrounds is notoriously bad for contrast, low-vision users, and people sensitive to motion. The fact that Apple has already had to tone it down and add controls to reduce the effect proves this isn’t a polish issue—it’s a fundamental design conflict.

It also introduces unnecessary performance and perception risk. Effects-heavy interfaces make users worry about battery life and older devices, even if Apple optimizes them. Apple upgrades work because users trust that updates improve stability, not just visuals. This redesign weakens that trust.

Then there’s the ecosystem cost. When Apple changes its visual language this dramatically, developers feel pressure to redesign their apps just to keep up—absorbing time and expense with no guarantee users actually want the look.

Most importantly, Liquid Glass sends the wrong signal. Apple wins by being practical, restrained, and human-centered. A flashy, polarizing UI suggests Apple is prioritizing visual novelty over usability at exactly the moment users want reliability and substance.

Apple shouldn’t need an OS you have to “dial back.” If users want to turn it off, it shouldn’t be the future of iOS.

You're sharing this with only other users. Perhaps cathartic to do so, but you're not sharing anything with Apple on this user to user only forum. Users, by the way, none of whom had anything to do with iOS 26 or Liquid Glass.

I wrote this, which explains why you will likely never get a turn off option with Liquid Glass. So yes, you need to make adjustments which better meet your needs, but get rid of Liquid Glass completely is pretty much guaranteed to never happen --> Liquid Glass - Love It Or Hate It - It's … - Apple Community

Tell Apple what you think --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple