During its opening WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple’s presenters highlighted a striking new look for the iPhone’s home screen: A clear look for all the icons, folders, and widgets on your screen, making it seem that everything is made of slightly curvy glass.
This is not, however, the default look on the iPhone in the new iOS 26, which is now available as a developer beta.
First, a quick name check-up: Apple calls its new design, which extends throughout all of its software, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, and macOS Tahoe, Liquid Glass. In this new design language, some of the elements, including some menus and notifications, are see-through, with an effect that slightly blurs the background design. It looks really cool, and has a visual effect of somehow freeing up space on your iPhone or iPad display.
But on the iPhone (and the iPad), the default look after you’ve installed iOS 26 isn’t as striking, with most icons looking similar to how they did before.
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