The Liquid Glass Controversy

Last September, iOS 26 introduced a striking new design, Liquid Glass, which many found irresistible. But some found it less easy to read, instead opting to stick with iOS 18. The new feature may help convince them that now’s the right time to switch to iOS 26.

Apple has been gently refining Liquid Glass all along, including an earlier change to all a tinted rather than completely clear version of the design.

“In iOS 26.4, there’s another new setting that lets you disable a different aspect of Liquid Glass. It’s called ‘Reduce Bright Effects,’ and it controls the bright flashing response that shows up when interacting with certain UI elements,” 9to5Mac noted.

How to Fix The Glow Behavior

This deals with what is sometimes called the “glow” behavior and that flashing effect proved annoying or “impossible to read,” as the site’s Dylan McDonald pointed out on X, helpfully showing the new and old effects alongside.

Like many useful additions, this is in Settings under Accessibility, where you choose Display & Text Size.

Both of these changes moderate the Liquid Glass effects and take the interface closer to iOS 18.

Though the vast majority of iPhones released in the last four years are running iOS 26, the proportion that held back, whether for aesthetic reasons or finding it hard to read — a particular complaint from those with low vision, for instance — still adds up to many millions of users.

Looking Ahead: iOS 27 Rumors

It’s expected that iOS 27, to be announced in early June, will keep Liquid Glass and introduce more significant refinement where there’ll be an adjustable slider to control system-wide levels of glass-like reflectivity on a granular level.