Emma Roth, writing for The Verge:

Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language just got a little more… frosted. In the third iOS 26 developer beta, Apple dialed back the transparency of navigation bars, buttons, and tabs that once allowed you to clearly see the content beneath them.

Apple already toned down the glassiness of Liquid Glass after many users complained that it was too transparent and made it more difficult to see certain options, like the icons inside the Control Center. This most recent beta makes Liquid Glass elements even more solid, likely as a way to improve readability. Still, some users see the change as a reversal of the flashy, glass-like design that Apple showcased at WWDC.

I’m one of the users Emma is referring to. This time, Apple has swung too far in the opposite direction. Instead of making such a drastic reversal, they should focus on offering alternative high-contrast options that still maintain the polish and visual appeal of the primary design. As it stands, enabling “Reduce Transparency” in the Accessibility settings to tone down the glass effect results in other design changes that look poor by comparison. Readability should not come at the cost of a beautiful user interface. I also believe that both the tech press and a small pool of beta users are exaggerating how negatively the general public will respond to this design in September.