iOS 26 just got a big design upgrade — thanks to your complaints

Apple released iOS 26 Beta 2 this week, adding some new features while also apparently fixing complaints about the new Liquid Glass user interface for iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices.

Liquid Glass refreshed the interface across Apple's different operating systems with a new look and feel that gave it more of a transparent look. However, initial impressions were mixed.

We found the look amazing but with some flaws such as app tinting and how Control Center looks.

"This feature allowed you to change the color of your app icons — at least in theory. In practice, the finished result made it look like you poured sauce all over your apps," my colleague Josh Render said of the customizable feature.

Tom's Guide's John Velasco found that the transparency caused issues with the way Control Center appears. Mostly it appears too busy and can make the settings panel unreadable.

"I noticed how the transparency of Liquid Glass clashes with the way the Control Center appears on top of certain elements, like the icons on my home screen, or very busy web pages," he wrote.

We were able to find workarounds for both issues, but it requires some finagling with the settings and does reduce the transparency.

What Beta 2 changes

With developer beta 2 for iOS 26, Apple has adjusted the background blur which obscures the home screen more and makes it more readable.

Here's an example from X user Aaron Perris, a contributor at Mac Rumors.

Notifications appears to have received a similar update to make them more readable, though it doesn't look as dramatic as the Control Center change.

To be clear, this likely won't be the final look for iOS 26 this is still a developers beta. A public beta won't launch until later this summer followed by the full release ahead of the iPhone 17 launch in the fall. Still, it is clear that Apple appears to be listening to user feedback and adjusting.

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