Apple’s new Liquid Glass design is noticeable on the Residence Display screen proper while you unlock your iPhone, although the diploma of change is customizable. We have rounded up every thing that is modified with the iPhone’s essential interface.
Liquid Glass Design
By default, app icons have a layered look with delicate depth, primarily showing as a number of sheets of glass stacked on each other to create a glass-like translucent look.
Apple created Liquid Glass app icons for apps like Safari, Maps, Pictures, the App Retailer, Mail and extra. Third-party app icons are adopting the identical aesthetic, and for apps with a easy design on a stable background, no replace is required. Icons like this have already got a Liquid Glass look.
The dock is clear and blends into the background behind it, and the identical goes for the search button. App folders have a frosted glass design that additionally adjustments tint primarily based in your wallpaper. While you edit your Residence Display screen, the buttons that you just work together with are additionally clear.
Interface parts just like the dock, folders, and the search button have a lighting impact that adjustments while you transfer your iPhone, making them appear to be actual glass.
Mild, Darkish and Tinted Modes
The Liquid Glass impact is clear in each Mild Mode and Darkish Mode, with icons persevering with to characteristic the identical stacked glass look, simply with a lighter or darker background.
Apple technically modified Mild Mode to “Default Mode” within the customization settings the place you’ll be able to modify colour (lengthy press on the show and faucet on customise).
There are new “At all times” and “Auto” toggles for enabling everlasting Mild or Darkish kinds or adjusting them primarily based on time, and the Small and Massive buttons for altering icon dimension have been relocated to the higher proper of the customization interface.
Tinted mode appears to be like completely different in iOS 26 than it did in iOS 18. Moderately than icons that includes a black background with coloured graphics, icons undertake the complete colour that you choose with white graphics in Mild Mode. In Darkish Mode, backgrounds are a a lot darker shade of the colour you select, however aren’t solely black.
With Tinted icons, the layered glass look is not as apparent, nevertheless it’s nonetheless current.
Clear Icons
Apple added a “Clear” icon choice in iOS 26 that is obtainable alongside Default, Darkish, and Tinted. Because the title suggests, Clear has a dramatic Liquid Glass look with icons which are solely clear. The icons undertake the colour of your wallpaper, with white textual content and designs.
There are Mild and Darkish choices for the Clear setting. Mild appears to be like like frosted glass, whereas Darkish appears to be like like tinted glass. If you wish to go all-in on Liquid Glass and have your iPhone look notably completely different, Clear is the choice to decide on.
Widgets
Widgets have a few of the similar aesthetic as icons, however on the entire, they do not look an excessive amount of completely different from how they appeared in iOS 18 within the Default mode.
With the Clear choice turned on, widgets are clear and have a extra cohesive design that matches together with your wallpaper.
Wallpaper
You’ll be able to edit your wallpaper straight from the Residence Display screen in iOS 26. Lengthy press on the show after which faucet on the brand new “Edit Wallpaper” choice.
The wallpaper interface permits you to change the picture that you just’re utilizing on the Residence Display screen, nevertheless it would not have an effect on the Lock Display screen. You probably have a photograph set as a wallpaper, for instance, you’ll be able to change the colour, choose a gradient, or select a photograph, plus you’ll be able to flip blurring for photos off or on.
Wallpaper takes a starring function in iOS 26 as a result of it impacts the colour of the dock, folders, and icons, relying in your settings.
Management Middle
Management Middle adopts Liquid Glass, so whereas the performance is similar, the final look is completely different. In comparison with the iOS 18 Management Middle, the iOS 26 model has depth for the icons with the Liquid Glass shifting mild impact.
The icons are tinted to appear to be frosted glass, and a few of the underlying buttons for adjusting Management Middle have been tweaked with the up to date look. Icons are somewhat bigger, and a few of the bar-shaped icons for quantity, brightness, and different settings are rounder.
Different Residence Display screen Parts
The Dynamic Island, Notification Middle, lengthy press gestures, and App Library haven’t modified past aesthetics. App Library folders are translucent and the search bar is rounded, and for widgets, there’s a glass look of various depth relying in your icon colour alternative.
App Library icons are additionally barely bigger, with much less padding between them.
Internet Apps
While you add a web site to your Residence Display screen in iOS 26, it at all times opens as an internet app. Internet apps have been obtainable on the Residence Display screen in iOS 18, however net builders wanted to configure them to function as net apps.
If web sites weren’t configured correctly, they might open in Safari when added to the Residence Display screen. Now a web site will open as a devoted net app, even when it hasn’t been explicitly set as much as work that method.
There may be an Open as Internet App choice that may be toggled off when including a web site to a Residence Display screen in case you want that web sites open up in Safari.
Learn Extra
We now have a devoted iOS 26 roundup that goes into element on the entire new options which are obtainable within the replace.
