Now that iOS 26 is available for everyone, iPhone users are breaking off into two camps. One is open to Apple’s new look for its entire product ecosystem, dubbed “Liquid Glass” for the translucent “glassmorphic” UI. As is so typical of the internet, the other side of the coin is livid about the change to their devices. Hold off on jumping the gun and retreating back to iOS 18. There are several hidden options that can make your device a little more legible and return the user interface to something more opaque, like on previous iPhone software.
Apple designed its Liquid Glass interface to appear layered, as if the buttons you’re tapping on the screen are tangible elements. The effect is as if a glass prism hangs over various design elements, where light refracts and distorts through app icons or menus. This can cause problems with legibility, especially when text in some menus distorts other words underneath it. Apple adjusted the transparency multiple times in beta over the last few months to arrive at the current version that’s less glassy and liquidy, but can still be a visual problem at times.
© Raymond Wong / GizmodoApple had to deal with similar usability issues back in the age of iOS 7. The iPhone maker rolled out several updates that fixed performance issues and accessibility options to make text more readable. For iOS 26, Apple has several options out of the gate that help reduce the Liquid Glass effect. If you go to Settings, then Accessibility and Display & Text Size, you’ll find three settings you can adjust.
“Reduce Transparency” is the closest you can get to removing Liquid Glass altogether. It gets rid of the blur effect on some menus and adds opaque boxes around others. For instance, in Apple Music, the “Now Playing” bar has a white box that takes up the bottom portion of the screen space. If you bring down the Control Center, you won’t see nearly the same amount of transparency. If I were most users, I would actually go with the “Increase Contrast” option. This creates a more frosted glass appearance compared to the translucent variety of the regular Liquid Glass. You can see this effect below without these options, with “Reduce Transparency,” and with “Increase Contrast.”
With either option selected, you’ll still see the same ripple effect when you swipe from the top left to bring down the lock screen and your notifications. You should also pay attention to new app icon options to really emphasize the new look. If you long-press on the home screen, then hit the Edit button in the top left and then tap Customize, you’ll see options for “Clear” or “Tinted” app icons. “Clear” will be incoherent on any lighter background wallpapers, whereas “Tinted” increases the contrast much more. Add in the “Increase Contrast” setting, and your apps will sport less of a 3D effect but still maintain the quasi-glassy look.
© Raymond Wong / GizmodoI suggest you play around with accessibility settings until you find one that works. Let’s face it: whether you love or hate Liquid Glass, most people won’t want to move back to older versions of iOS. If you plan to use the new AirPods features on the AirPods Pro 3 or Apple’s older earbuds, such as Live Translation and heart rate monitoring, you’ll need a device with iOS 26. Want new features to automatically screen incoming calls for spammers and scammers or long-awaited polls in Messages? You’ll need to stick with iOS 26.
As for me, I’m already faced with idiosyncrasies of Apple’s design. Punching in my code to access my phone is less readable than normal, at least without changing my settings; the odd optical illusion that makes my apps look like they’re tilting in the light is unsettling, though to a small degree. I’ll accept I won’t like everything on the platform as locked down as Apple wants it to be. It will take collective retraining for all of us to accept the changes, as much as we may try to mitigate them.
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