iOS 26 beta 3 dials back Liquid Glass

The iPhone’s new glassy look has been toned down with Monday’s release of the third developer beta of iOS 26. This follows user complaints that the update made parts of the user interface more difficult to read.

At WWDC 2025 in June, the tech giant introduced its new design language, known as Liquid Glass, which is inspired by the optical qualities of glass in the real world, including how it refracts light and its translucent nature.

But the early version in the first developer beta of iOS 26 and the accompanying updates for Apple’s other devices still left room for improvement in terms of usability, accessibility, and legibility.

Last month, Apple fixed some of the more prominent issues with Liquid Glass, like how it made the Control Center so transparent that the iPhone Home Screen icons and widgets shone through, creating visual clutter and confusion.

Monday’s update sees Apple taking yet another step to dial things back from an overly-glassy look in a number of key areas. While beta 2 addressed problems with the Control Center, beta 3 shifts its focus to other areas of the mobile operating system, like Notifications and navigation within Apple’s first-party apps, like Apple Music.

For instance, the navigation bar in Apple’s streaming music app no longer sees the background shining through a bit, opting for a more solid white.

Image Credits:screenshot of iOS 26 beta 2 and 3

Notifications are also less translucent, as the background behind the text is darkened, increasing contrast.

Image Credits:screenshot of iOS 26 beta 2 and 3

While the changes arguably make features easier to read, some users now complain that Apple has gone too far in the other direction with a return to more of a “frosted glass” aesthetic.

However, it’s worth remembering these are just developer betas — early versions of the mobile operating system that won’t be finalized until its public release this fall. The point of beta software is to allow Apple to collect feedback, find bugs, and address issues before the software rolls out more broadly.

That means Apple could continue to tweak the Liquid Glass look-and-feel over the coming releases to find the sweet spot for the new glassy look within every app and screen.