iOS 26 Review: Liquid Glass Design Changes Everything

Federico Viticci's comprehensive iOS 26 review has landed, and it feels like a line in the sand for Apple's software. With Apple's new Liquid Glass design language dominating the conversation and Viticci testing nearly 70 third-party apps with the new interface, this is not another incremental update. After Apple spent over two months fine-tuning the Liquid Glass appearance before shipping, we are looking at Apple's most ambitious design overhaul in years.

That long refinement period signals more than routine polish. It reads like Apple knew this was the moment to set the visual language that will carry the ecosystem for the next decade. Unlike updates that felt evolutionary, this is the first comprehensive reimagining of interface philosophy since the iOS 7 revolution.

What makes Liquid Glass actually revolutionary?

Let's break down what Liquid Glass really brings. Unlike the dramatic iOS 7 reset twelve years ago, this design language focuses on intelligent adaptation, not visual shock. Liquid Glass combines optical properties of glass with fluid dynamics. Interface elements blur and refract content in real time, then react to device movement through gyroscope and accelerometer data. You move the phone, the UI shifts with you.

What stands out is how the material responds to user touches with fluid, morphing animations for menus and buttons. This is not just eye candy, it is Apple's first major interface redesign since iOS 7, and it stretches across Apple's platforms. The see-through controls absorb color from surrounding content, which makes the visuals feel cohesive and grounded in context.

Here is the fundamental shift from iOS 7. That release stripped away skeuomorphic flourishes to create a clean slate. Liquid Glass adds intelligence to how the interface behaves. The real-time response to device movement gives elements a physical presence we have not seen before. It is not only a new look, it makes the UI feel like it lives in your space.

The engineering implications are staggering. Apple has essentially created a physics engine for interface elements that runs constantly without draining battery, and it still keeps performance smooth across the hardware lineup. That kind of headroom unlocks patterns designers could not attempt before.

How Viticci's review process evolved with AI

Here is the twist from the journalism side. Federico's workflow changed drastically this year, bringing research, writing, and editing into Notion alongside assistive AI for research and compiling. He used LLMs with custom prompts, and still leaned on Drafts for note-taking and Markdown.

That mirrors what a lot of us are doing in tech analysis, AI as a research assistant, not a replacement for human judgment. Various MCP integrations helped streamline the work, and Federico even used the 'Use Model' action in Apple Intelligence shortcuts for his Automation Academy lessons.

What makes this notable is the depth it enables. Federico is not just using AI to hurry along the same steps, he is using it to spot patterns across dozens of third-party apps and synthesize insights that would have taken months of manual testing. The bar rises for readers, and for reviewers, in the best way.

The meta-angle is hard to ignore. As Apple weaves AI deeper into its process, journalists are using AI to evaluate those same tools. Call it a feedback loop, one that could speed up both software progress and critical analysis.

The bigger picture: Apple's design philosophy shift

Viticci's review points to more than fresh visuals. Context menus now expand into scannable lists, eliminating scrolling. Controls automatically give way to content and return when users interact with them. Less fuss, more focus. That is Apple thinking hard about hierarchy and attention, trimming cognitive load while keeping power close at hand.

This sits alongside a broader architectural moment. All operating systems are jumping to version 26, with macOS 26 Tahoe being the final version to support Intel chips. A clean break invites a clean language.

The timing matters. With Intel on the way out, Apple can design interface elements that lean into custom silicon without worrying about legacy quirks or uneven performance. It is hard to imagine Liquid Glass, in this form, coexisting with older architectures.

There is a competitive angle too. While Android and Windows wrestle with fragmented hardware, Apple can push interface ideas that are tougher to ship when you must cover dozens of chipsets and performance profiles. That advantage compounds.

What this means for the Apple ecosystem moving forward

Bottom line, Viticci's review captures Apple at an inflection point. The review covers system design, new app features, and big changes to iPadOS, and it does so with the rigor MacStories is known for. With an eBook edition that's DRM-free and fully interactive, it doubles as a reference for Apple's design direction.

The takeaway is not just that iOS 26 looks different, it is that Apple is rethinking how interface elements behave and adapt. As AI begins to assist even seasoned reviewers like Viticci, deep, careful analysis matters more than ever.

What strikes me most is the convergence of long-running threads, unified hardware, sophisticated AI, a mature design ethos, and better tools, all arriving together. The result is software that feels evolutionary and revolutionary, familiar enough to use immediately, yet bold enough to reset how we think about human computer interaction.

For developers, that brings opportunity and challenge. The interactive eBook format of Viticci's review shines here, you can watch these behaviors in motion instead of imagining them. Learning how Liquid Glass changes app design patterns will be essential for anyone building in Apple's ecosystem.

This review works as both a technical deep dive and a roadmap for Apple's software future, which makes it essential reading for anyone serious about where the ecosystem goes next.