Apple has unveiled a new software design featuring Liquid Glass, a material that enhances the expressiveness and familiarity of apps and system experiences. This design spans across multiple platforms, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 261.
Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design, stated, “At Apple, we’ve always believed in the deep integration of hardware and software that makes interacting with technology intuitive, beautiful, and delightful. This is our broadest software design update ever.” The new design aims to make interactions more engaging by rethinking fundamental software elements.
The Liquid Glass material is described as translucent and responsive to its environment. It uses real-time rendering to dynamically react to movement with specular highlights. According to Apple, this creates a lively experience for users of iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
The updated design extends from small user interface elements like buttons and sliders to larger components such as tab bars and sidebars. The new layout is intended to bring greater focus to content while maintaining familiarity across different devices.
Apple’s design team redesigned controls and navigation within apps to fit modern hardware’s rounded corners better. These changes are also applied to app interfaces such as Camera, Photos, Safari, FaceTime, Apple Music, Apple News, and Apple Podcasts.
On platforms like macOS Tahoe 26, customization options have been enhanced with widgets and app icons crafted from Liquid Glass materials. The new clear look aims for greater personalization while preserving familiar aspects for users.
For developers using SwiftUI, UIKit, and AppKit frameworks an updated set of APIs is available. These allow developers to integrate the new Liquid Glass materials into their apps easily.
