iOS 26.1 update has arrived and it brings a fix for the controversial Liquid Glass theme

8 hours agoLast Updated: November 4, 2025

1 8 minutes read

iOS 26.1 update has arrived and it brings a fix for the controversial Liquid Glass theme

By | Published: 2025-11-04 04:05:37 | Source: Digital Trends

What happened? Apple has just released iOS 26.1 update widely to iPhone users through the public release channel. It brings a bunch of new features and bug fixes to the table. However, the most notable change is the addition of a new display control that could help tone down the Liquid Glass’s design language.

In the Settings app, there’s now a dedicated Liquid Glass control that lets users choose between transparent and tinted.
When applying color mode, menu bubbles and buttons reduce the transparent effect introduced with Liquid Glass. Basically, it reduces the transparency of the background.
To switch between the two modes follow this path: Settings > Display & brightness > Liquid Glass

This is important because: When Apple introduced the Liquid Glass design language, it sparked some heated debate, not only because the aesthetic fix was a bit aggressive, but also because of the visual discomfort.

Many users reported that transparent UI elements made text more difficult to see. One UX designer in my department argued that placing text over images is a readability concern because the contrast is usually not strong enough to prevent words from melting into the background.
Some users pointed out that instead of being a subtle change that blends into the page, transparent elements, such as the tab bar, title, and buttons, cover the page contents and look distracting. Interestingly, some brands that make Android phones have started imitating the look.
With iOS 26.1, Apple isn’t fixing the whole situation, but is just giving users the choice between transparency and tinted glass, which gives a semblance of opacity and solid interaction targets on the screen.

Why should I care? The new iOS 26.1 update brings a fix for the Liquid Glass design case, and should resolve some of the clarity issues that users have pointed out with transparent UI elements. However, the update brings some other changes as well.

The AirPods’ live translation feature adds support for Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Chinese. So far, it has only worked with English (UK and US), French (France), German (Germany), Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain).
It also enables the automatic mixing system within Apple Music when connected via AirPlay streaming.
On the lock screen, users can now disable the camera shortcut, which allows access via a swipe gesture.
Apple says it has also improved audio quality in FaceTime calls, and enabled communication security and web content filters on websites by default for children’s accounts.

Okay, so what’s next? With a solution for Liquid Design visuals, the iOS 26.1 update also adds some changes focused on fitness and creators as well.

Users can now manually log their workouts in the fitness app.
For camera enthusiasts, they can now save captured media locally to a specific location, and when an external USB microphone is connected, they will now have access to the controls while recording audio.

(Tags for translation)Phones

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