Apple’s iOS 26: A Bold “Liquid Glass” Makeover. The hallmark of iOS 26 is its sweeping visual redesign. Apple has literally polished every corner of the interface with a new material design they call Liquid Glass. This is a translucent, glass-like effect that’s applied system-wide – from app backgrounds and menus to widgets and icons – creating a layered depth and sheen throughout the UI. According to Apple, “It’s crafted with Liquid Glass — a new translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, bringing greater focus to content, and delivering a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more.” Apple In practice, this means apps have subtle frosted-glass panels, the dock and notification shade blur into the wallpaper, and even folder backgrounds on the home screen are semi-transparent. The look is striking and modern, giving iOS a fresh feel it hasn’t had in years.