Here’s How You Can Disable Liquid Glass UI on iOS 26

Apple changed its software naming scheme this year, and instead of introducing iOS 19, the Cupertino-based giant launched iOS 26. Though the update is in its developer beta phase, it brings a lot of new features for iPhones. Aside from all the new changes and features, one of the highlights of iOS 26 is the glass UI, which Apple calls the “Liquid Glass” interface. It is more or less similar to the UI of visionOS on the Vision Pro headset, but for iPhone. You will see that most UI elements are transparent, and your display shines through the controls.

While many have appreciated one of the biggest redesigns from Apple since iOS 7, there are a good bunch of people who hate it. If you fall in the second category and want the pre-Liquid Glass design on your iPhone running iOS 26, then thankfully, there is a way that can help you achieve that. In this guide, we will share with you how you can disable the iOS 26 glass UI on your iPhone.

Disable Liquid Glass UI on iOS 26

Apple offers multiple accessibility features that can help you turn down the iOS 26 Liquid Glass UI on your iPhone. Here are a few things that you can do to turn off the iOS 26 glass UI.

Turn on the Reduce Transparency option

There is a dedicated option called “Reduce Transparency” that will remove the transparent glass-like UI design from iOS 26. It adds a dark background to the translucent areas in the Control Center, app icons, app folders, and other UI elements within the apps. Follow the steps below to turn on “Reduce Transparency” mode on your iPhone running iOS 26:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.
3. Choose Display & Text Size.
4. Turn on the toggle for the Reduce Transparency option.

While toggling on the “Reduce Transparency” option does make the UI look opaque, it doesn’t take away the Liquid Glass design of iOS 26.

Customize app icons

1. Long-press in an empty area on your home screen.
2. Tap Edit and then Customize.
3. In place of Clear, you can choose either the Default icon or go for Dark or Tinted options for reduced transparency in app icons.

iOS 26 supports clear app icons and widgets, which are added to give you the Liquid Glass interface. However, since you aren’t among the ones who loved the new UI, you can choose the other app icon options to reduce the glass UI on your iPhone.

Switch to Dark Mode

When using an iPhone running iOS 26, you will notice that things appear more glossy when used in Light Mode. Moreover, Apple has added a new “Clear Look” mode that gives you the best Liquid Glass UI feel on iOS 26 running iPhone. The best thing to do when you are avoiding the iOS 26 glass UI is to switch to Dark Mode by following the steps below:

1. Launch Settings.
2. Choose Display and Brightness.
3. Select the Dark option under Appearance.

Use Solid Clock Style on Lock Screen

After you update your iPhone to iOS 26, you will see that the Lock Screen, by default, chooses the “Glass” style as the clock style. You can change it to remove the iOS 26 glass UI. Here’s how to do it:

1. Long-press on your lock screen.
2. Select Customize.
3. Tap on the clock to customize it.
4. Switch over to Solid from Glass at the bottom.
5. Select Done to save the lock screen without the glass effect.

Apple is continuing with the Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, and it will evolve until the official version is released. Right now, Apple has released the iOS 26 Beta 2 update, which also brought an upgrade to this glass design and has adjusted the background blur in the Control Center, which in Beta 1 looked pretty messy, as it showed Home Screen apps underneath. Let us know in the comments below if you are a fan of the iOS 26 Glass UI or not.