A Fresh Look That Feels Familiar
Cupertino, California – Apple has revealed an exciting update to its software design, introducing a fresh look that feels both elegant and familiar. This major design update brings a more refined and lively feel across all Apple devices — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.
At the heart of this change is a brand-new material called Liquid Glass, which brings a beautiful, dynamic, and fluid appearance to the software experience. Whether you’re scrolling through apps or unlocking your phone, the new design makes interactions feel more magical and alive.
Introducing Liquid Glass: A Material That Reacts with You
The highlight of Apple’s new design is Liquid Glass, a translucent and intelligent material that mimics the look of real glass. But it’s more than just a visual upgrade. Liquid Glass adapts to your content and environment, changing appearance based on light, dark mode, and the content behind it.
Designed in close collaboration between Apple’s design and engineering teams, Liquid Glass uses real-time rendering to create specular highlights that shift with movement. This brings a subtle yet vibrant layer of life to everyday interactions — from tapping a button to browsing through apps.
A Consistent Look Across Devices
For the first time, Apple is rolling out a single design language across all platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. While each system keeps its unique personality, this unified design brings a sense of harmony and familiarity no matter which device you’re using.
According to Alan Dye, Apple’s VP of Human Interface Design, “This is our biggest design update ever. Liquid Glass gives us a material that blends beauty and function, laying the foundation for new and exciting experiences to come.”
Redesigned App Interfaces for Better Focus
Apple’s design team took a deep look at every part of the system to create a more focused and enjoyable experience. Controls, toolbars, and navigation elements have been redesigned to better match the curves of modern devices, creating a more seamless and natural flow.
Buttons, sliders, switches, and other small elements are now made from Liquid Glass, giving them depth and a sense of dimension. These controls sit gently above your content and adjust based on what you’re doing, helping you stay focused on the task at hand.
Fluid Tab Bars and Immersive Sidebars
In iOS 26, tab bars now shrink when you scroll, putting your content front and center, and expand again when needed. In iPadOS and macOS, sidebars reflect and refract the content behind them, giving apps a fresh and immersive feel.
Apps like Camera, Safari, Photos, FaceTime, Apple Music, and Apple Podcasts have all been updated with this new design. The result is a more enjoyable and modern experience, with smooth transitions and thoughtful layouts.
New Look for Lock Screen, Home Screen, and More
The new design also brings changes to the Lock Screen, Home Screen, and system interfaces. The time on the Lock Screen is now made from Liquid Glass and dynamically adjusts its shape and size to fit behind the subject of your photo wallpaper. This creates a clean, layered look that blends seamlessly with your background.
On the Home Screen and desktop, widgets, app icons, and the Dock have all been refreshed with the new material. You can now choose between light and dark tints, or go for a completely clear look. In macOS Tahoe 26, the menu bar is now fully transparent, making the screen feel larger and more open.
Personalized and Beautiful on Every Device
Apple’s new design puts more control in the hands of users. With Liquid Glass, app icons and widgets feel alive, with reflections and highlights that respond to your environment. Whether you want a colorful style or a subtle glassy look, the new system makes it easy to customize your device while still feeling familiar and easy to use.
The new design is especially stunning on devices like the 13-inch MacBook Air, where the updated desktop, Dock, and menu bar come together to create a clean, personalized experience.
Tools for Developers to Build Dynamic Apps
For app creators, Apple has updated its development tools with new APIs for SwiftUI, UIKit, and AppKit. These tools make it simple for developers to adopt the new design and bring Liquid Glass to their apps. With these updates, developers can refresh their app interfaces and take advantage of the new materials and controls.
This means more third-party apps will soon adopt the look and feel of Apple’s latest design, giving users a consistent and delightful experience across all their favorite apps.
Apple’s new software design, powered by the innovative Liquid Glass material, brings a fresh, elegant, and joyful experience to its entire ecosystem. It’s the most complete and unified design update Apple has ever done, and it makes even simple tasks feel more dynamic and beautiful.
Whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV, this new design brings everything together in a seamless and expressive way — all while keeping the familiar ease of use that Apple is known for.
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