Apple Unveils “Liquid Glass” Design and Renames iOS to iOS 26 at WWDC 2025: Explore Apple Liquid Glass Design

Apple has announced a significant change in its iPhone operating system naming convention at WWDC 2025. What would have been called iOS 19 is now iOS 26, aligning with the year 2026 when most users will adopt it. Alongside this, Apple introduced a major visual redesign known as Liquid Glass, previously codenamed "Solarium."

Apple Liquid Glass Design Features

Liquid Glass represents Apple's most substantial design update since iOS 7. This new aesthetic layers semi-transparent glass materials across all of Apple's platforms, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, MacOS 15, WatchOS 10, TVOS 16, and VisionOS 4. The design can refract and reflect surroundings while adapting its tint for light and dark modes.

"At Apple, we've always believed in the deep integration of hardware and software that makes interacting with technology intuitive, beautiful, and delightful," said Alan Dye, Apple's vice president of Human Interface Design.

The Liquid Glass design introduces consistent depth and translucency across Apple's devices. For instance, on the iPhone's Lock Screen, time numerals integrate with the wallpaper's colours. In MacOS 15, the Dock and menu bar can become fully transparent or tinted to highlight wallpapers and icons.

Apple's apps like Safari, Music, News, and Podcasts feature tab bars that float in a frosted-glass layer. These bars shrink when scrolling down to prioritise content and re-expand when scrolling up. This creates a dynamic user interface experience.

Apple iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and MacOS 15 System Panels

Liquid Glass spans Apple's entire software lineup. In iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and MacOS 15, system panels like Control Center and notifications use Liquid Glass materials with translucent layers and rounded corners that mirror device bezels.

WatchOS 10 incorporates Liquid Glass into every UI element from notifications to watch-face complications. This enhances legibility with rounded corners and translucent menus for visual harmony.

Apple TV: TVOS and VisionOS Enhancements

On TVOS 16, the Apple TV Home Screen features frosted backdrops behind app tiles. The top-bar navigation adopts the same translucent styling for consistency across platforms. VisionOS 4 refines its floating windows and iconography to match the Liquid Glass style.

Apple has made developer APIs available for third-party developers to adopt Liquid Glass materials easily. This enables apps to incorporate translucency and motion-responsive effects seamlessly into their designs.

Apple Release Timeline

The rollout of developer and public betas for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and other systems will occur over the summer months. Final public releases are expected around September 2025 alongside new hardware launches.

This comprehensive update marks a new era in Apple's design language by unifying aesthetics across all devices while enhancing user interaction through innovative visual elements.