At WWDC 2025, Apple stunned the tech world with the introduction of a brand-new design philosophy called “Liquid Glass,” alongside the official reveal of iOS 26. With this new software update, Apple aims to redefine the visual and interactive experience across its ecosystem, blending elegance, fluidity, and AI-enhanced personalization.
What is Liquid Glass?
“Liquid Glass” is Apple’s next-generation user interface design — a fusion of transparency, depth, motion, and fluid responsiveness. The new look brings a highly immersive, almost tactile quality to the iOS experience. Think shimmering translucent layers, soft gradients, and interactive surfaces that respond dynamically to light, movement, and user gestures.
Unlike previous visual upgrades, Liquid Glass isn’t just aesthetic — it’s functionally smarter. Powered by Apple Intelligence (Apple’s new AI system), it adapts elements like brightness, layout, and content presentation based on user habits and environmental context.
iOS 26: Key Features
Alongside this UI overhaul, iOS 26 comes packed with productivity and personalization enhancements:
- Dynamic App Cards: Apps now open in floating, translucent “cards” that can be resized, stacked, or minimized — similar to multitasking on a desktop.
- Live Widgets 2.0: Widgets are now interactive and animated, updating in real-time with smoother transitions and context-aware suggestions.
- AI-Enhanced Notifications: Apple Intelligence filters and summarizes your notifications, prioritizing the most important ones and hiding distractions.
- New Lock Screen Experience: The lock screen is now fully customizable with layered wallpapers, glanceable data, and gesture-based interactions.
- Privacy Visualizer: A new tool lets users visually see how and when their data is accessed by apps, ensuring transparency at a glance.
A Cross-Device Evolution
Liquid Glass isn’t exclusive to iPhones. The same visual language will extend across iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, creating a unified and harmonious feel throughout the Apple ecosystem. This approach reflects Apple’s ongoing mission to blur the lines between hardware and software, giving users a seamless experience regardless of the device.
Developer Opportunities
Apple has released updated design kits and APIs for developers to adopt Liquid Glass elements into their own apps. This paves the way for a wave of third-party apps that can deliver ultra-responsive, visually stunning experiences while adhering to Apple’s new design language.
Final Thoughts
With iOS 26 and the Liquid Glass design philosophy, Apple is entering a new era of mobile experience — one where beauty meets intelligence, and every interaction feels alive. It’s not just a software update; it’s a reimagining of how users see, touch, and navigate the digital world. As developers embrace the new tools and users get hands-on later this year, Liquid Glass may well become the gold standard in interface design.
