Apple has just announced the upcoming iOS 26 software for the iPhone, featuring a brand new design material known as “Liquid Glass.”
Liquid Glass emphasizes transparency to enable users to view their favorite content through the iPhone’s controls. However, not everyone is thrilled with this new aesthetic.
If you’re an iPhone user who isn’t a fan of the new look, there’s a way to make adjustments without completely abandoning the fresh design.
Apple’s Accessibility options in the Settings app offer customization features for different visual needs and preferences. One such option is “Reduce Transparency.”
By enabling Reduce Transparency, you can introduce a darker background to translucent areas like app icons, app folders, and the Control Center. This improves screen contrast, making content easier to read.
Here’s how you can activate Reduce Transparency:
- Open the Settings app
- In the main menu, go to Accessibility.
- Find and select Display & Text Size.
- Locate the Reduce Transparency toggle switch and turn it on.
- Enjoy the enhanced readability with reduced transparency.
If you want quick access to toggle this setting on and off, you can add it to your Control Center. Here’s how:
- Swipe down from the upper-left corner of your screen to open Control Center.
- Hold your finger on an empty space in Control Center until Add a Control appears.
- Select Add a Control.
- Search for “Reduce Transparency.”
- Tap the icon that appears in the search results to add it to Control Center.
- Now you can easily toggle the feature on and off from Control Center.
Enabling “Reduce Transparency” doesn’t eliminate all translucency in the iOS 26 interface but adds a touch of opacity while retaining the overall iOS 26 aesthetic.
Currently, iOS 26 beta testers are exploring the initial beta version, with more betas to come before the public release in the fall. Apple is likely to refine the Liquid Glass design based on user feedback. If you have concerns or difficulties with the new look, use the preinstalled Feedback app to share your thoughts with Apple.
This isn’t the first time iPhone users have encountered design changes in iOS that divided opinions. It’s a cycle that has repeated since the debut of iOS 7 twelve years ago.
