My dad bought a 17 Pro and doesn't even notice Liquid Glass

[AshX]

I don’t quite understand why Apple users tend to be so dismissive of people who voice legitimate criticisms and point out legitimate issues. It is not a personal attack or affront.

From what I have read and experienced myself, iOS 26 breaks a lot of Apple’s own design rules. Is it cool? Yes. Is it functional on the level of previous iOS versions? That depends.

The goal of any OS update, I would imagine, should be to deliver new and improved features while making your OS as functional, legible, and comfortable as possible for the most amount of users. Given the sheer amount of complaints this many weeks since release, Apple has clearly failed in that regard.

As others have commented, not everyone has the same vision or neurology. It’s disappointing that so many users seem to have a level of disdain for people with these sorts of problems and sensitivities. We would all love to use iOS 26 and the latest devices with no issues.

A lot of this can be solved with additional settings, though it really should have been solved at the R&D phase. It was not. The Accessibility settings are not sufficient, which is probably why Apple is toning down Liquid Glass itself. Hopefully it works. Or you know, Apple can just let people downgrade to iOS 18 and provide security updates for the next year until iOS 27 when they will hopefully address these visual problems in a bigger way.

The reason people are complaining as much as they are is because Apple has removed the ability to downgrade. They’ve taken away that choice. It still exists on MacOS - why not iOS and iPadOS? That’s the real problem. This isn’t a matter of choosing to buy or not buy an iPhone 17 that comes pre-loaded with iOS 26 - Apple has actively prevented users with older models from downgrading.

There are a ton of easy solutions available to Apple. They just refuse to give users a choice. It’s their way or the highway, and thus many are so disgusted they’re considering driving down the road to Android.

 

[p.willis]

The whole LG outrage was a very small group of vocal anti Apple posters.

I was worried it was going to destroy a well evolved interface for no reason.
It doesn't.

It adds some slight visual twists that mostly look subtle and nice.

 

[Simmias]

Exact same for my mother!

Except, she does notice, and she does mind.

This is a great point, except that my story is true while yours never happened.

 

[klasma]

Yeah, it’s a bit like a change in government: some love it, others say it’s a total disaster and completely broken, while still others go about their lives and barely notice.

 

[MaxVerstappen]

Yeah, I also think most just get used to the changes after not too long.

Me? I still miss iOS 6.

We all miss being 20 years younger… it’s called being nostalgic.

 

[n-evo]

If people don’t notice major changes like liquid glass then apple shouldn’t change them. Keeps the people who do notice sane.

We’d still be using the original monochrome interface from the 80s.

 

[FeliApple]

We all miss being 20 years younger… it’s called being nostalgic.

The funny part is that I have an iPod Touch 5G running it’s absolutely original version: iOS 6.0

 

[FeliApple]

Except, some people who notice, really like it. Like me. And it was due time for a refresh.

To each their own, but I’ve always disagreed with the phrase “it was due time for a refresh”.

For me this was a full regression in usability and readability. So much so that Apple even toned it back a little.

 

[haruhiko]

He will definitely notice the drop in battery life.

 

[Happy_John]

The moral of the story is:

For people who have lives, or, more realistically, prefer to focus on their lives than advert and sponsor driven online drama, the OS on their phone is not very important.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

We need the Thumbs Down button back.

 

[tomtattoo]

So much so that Apple even toned it back a little.

Like bringing back the swipe gesture for changing watchfaces.
This is the best sign they realized they have done it wrong.

And THAT is the best sign that critics were right.

 

[Boeingfan]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

As the old saying goes, everyone wants change but no one wants to change. There’s another cliche, that change is the only constant in life. Que sera, sera!

 

[Robert.Walter]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

Maybe it’s time to take away his car keys?

 

[Shirasaki]

What actually starts to irritate me is apps are being updated with iOS 26 design aesthetic in mind for their app logos, meaning they look completely out of place in my iOS 18 iPhone. Can I update it? Yes. Will I update it? Maybe, but certainly won’t be updating it for a while. Unfortunately, I can’t really escape the “liquid glass” even if I want to, unless I just uninstall all apps with their icon updated with iOS 26 aesthetic.

Granted, icon change of this magnitude is no big deal, but even if users don’t update to iOS 26, more and more app icons will.

 

[Tevosn]

Tbh, I got an iPhone 17pro and I’m not sure what Liquid Glass is

 

[cfountain72]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

I personally agree with this assessment. I mean, it's kinda neat to slide you finger over certain objects and see how the UI responds to your finger and how the prism effect appears around it. It is impressive to think about how much calculation is going on in the background to create that effect in real time.

But all that being said, I feel a little sad about how excited the Apple UI/UX team was about the changes, when it really doesn't make a huge difference in the way it looks, or the way it works. Maybe the foundation is being laid for bigger changes down the road...?

 

[cfountain72]

View attachment 2573337
What actually starts to irritate me is apps are being updated with iOS 26 design aesthetic in mind for their app logos, meaning they look completely out of place in my iOS 18 iPhone. Can I update it? Yes. Will I update it? Maybe, but certainly won’t be updating it for a while. Unfortunately, I can’t really escape the “liquid glass” even if I want to, unless I just uninstall all apps with their icon updated with iOS 26 aesthetic.

Granted, icon change of this magnitude is no big deal, but even if users don’t update to iOS 26, more and more app icons will.

Those are not Mac-only changes. Those new icons are used in Windows and Mac OS's.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

I find that quite interesting! He may not be familiar with the UI, but is able to find his way around quickly enough. How it looks visually is less important to his brain than “Are the things I need here?”. For example, the checkmark instead of (ok). That’s something that took me a bit to realize, but, once I had it, new neuron pathways set, and that’s just how I use it now. Visually, big difference, but its location infers what it does in the entire structure of the UI. For those that experience the changes as visual, not structural, I can imagine how it would be harder to take in all the individual changes on a given screen at once. Could be sensory overload.

 

[ahmedfarhan]

Totally agree, most average users barely notice UI tweaks like Liquid Glass, it’s usually the tech crowd that overanalyzes every pixel while regular folks just keep using their phones as usual.

 

[Shirasaki]

Those are not Mac-only changes. Those new icons are used in Windows and Mac OS's.

I pick Microsoft apps as examples to show my point. Besides, there will be more and more iOS apps that doesn’t have macOS apps or windows apps to also adapt to the liquid glass icon design.

 

[davidh2k]

Like bringing back the swipe gesture for changing watchfaces.
This is the best sign they realized they have done it wrong.

And THAT is the best sign that critics were right.

Oh, can we also get back Controlcenter when swiping up from the bottom?

The tap on the top of the watch face is atrioucios an works like 1 out of 5 times.

 

[Abydos]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

I fall into the same category (over 70) found out I use in order fitness/health ,mail , phone, messages. I'm probably not a techie (mathematician by training with a phd) so many of the features that excite people seem mundane. if it excites you good, I dread ai because it seems pointed toward marketing at the moment, and because of the sloppiness of natural language

 

[fenderbass146]

My dad went from a 15 Pro running iOS 18 to a 17 Pro running iOS 26 (because AT&T offered him a great trade in deal). I asked what he thought of the new iOS design with Liquid Glass, and he said he didn't notice any difference 😂

To me, this is a hilarious counterpoint to all the online commentators who spent months ranting about the usability and legibility of Liquid Glass and acting like it was the end of the world. Meanwhile in the real world, normies like my dad, who is actually very averse to change and doesn't even like to upgrade his devices, have zero complaints and just go about using their phone as if nothing has changed.

The moral of the story is that most things that make people lose their minds on social media and the forums don't even register with the vast majority of Apple users. They're mainly just controversies drummed up by press & influencers as engagement bait and then amplified by legions of trolls with too much time on their hands and a desperate need for attention.

Welcome to the internet...same thing on all topics, hobbies, sports, tech, politcs.

 

[TracerAnalog]

As a definite non-normy myself, I too think the whole hoopla about Liquid Glass is way overblown. It's a fairly modest HMI change, sold by Apple as revolutionary. My SO also hardly notices it...

There are some bugs that Apple needs to iron out (e.g. some text hits the new rounded corners in some apps or menus, sharing a link from Safari to another browser stopped working) but that is to be expected. No one ships mature software these days, unfortunately.