Apple unveiled its latest suite of operating system updates at last month’s WWDC event, with iOS 26 stealing the spotlight. The new Liquid Glass design took everyone by surprise, as it marked the first time in years that Apple has given the iPhone’s visual interface an overhaul.
However, the hype doesn’t seem to have lasted long as users have now been treated to a much more different look as the OS was rolled out for third Beta version.
Unlike the first version, the liquid glass UI seems to have been toned down alone by the developers at Apple to the point of resembling the classic Windows Vista which wasn’t what Apple showcased initially.
While some still seem to like it, others have described their disappointment by calling it ugly and wondering why Apple decided to scale back on the unique interface.
Others have defended the decision, stating that it is Apple’s attempt at making the interface more practical rather than just “different”.
Meanwhile, some users have come up with theories that Apple may have realized that Liquid Glass performs poorly on older iPhones and may cause issues like overheating.
What is clear, though, is that such revisions were inevitable, as we have seen them with other companies before. A big example would be Microsoft fully replacing the Live Tiles in Windows 11 that had been present in both Windows 8 and 10.
Luckily, there are still other beta versions to come for iOS 26, so we can only hope that Apple listens to the feedback and finds a balance between this current version and the first design.
Apple is expected to release the full version later this year in September, so it will be a while before we see the final official version.
