The Liquid Glass Design from Apple, introduced in iOS 26, iPados 26 and MacOS Tahoe 26, has a translucent, glassy effect. This technique looks like real glass and reflects the environment, so that buttons and interface elements adapt to the background. Unfortunately, this design also brings challenges for readability.
Fortunately, Apple offers a number of options in accessibility settings to adjust transparency, making buttons and menus clearer. This way you can adjust the Liquid Glass effect and improve readability and contrast.
Liquid Glass in transparent?
Thanks to the Liquid Glass design, the interface for Apple devices looks like real glass and reflects the environment, so that buttons and interface elements adapt to the background. Due to the strong transparency and the liquid effect under glass elements, it can be difficult to read texts and buttons, especially with busy backgrounds. This can distract and make use uncomfortable, especially with the control panel and reports.
That is why Apple offers a number of options in accessibility settings to adjust transparency, making buttons and menus more clearly readable. In addition, the contrast can be increased with outlines to distinguish elements more clearly.
Adjust Liquid Glass
You can adjust the Liquid Glass design via the accessibility settings of your iPhone, iPad or Mac, by lowering the transparency for a frosted glass effect and thus alleviating the background. In addition, you can increase the contrast to make buttons, text and other elements easier to read.
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad
- Navigate to ‘accessibility’
- Tap ‘display and text size’
- Select the ‘Make less transparent’ option
- Optionally you can also switch on ‘increase contrast’
This option improves the contrast by reducing the transparency and blurring of backgrounds, which increases readability. In addition, surfaces behind buttons are added for better distinction, such as in the photos app.
You can see the difference in the menus of standard apps, notifications, the control panel and other transparent elements. Unfortunately it is not possible to completely reduce the design to the previous version of iOS and iPados, but it can cause more brightness in some places.
Change transparency on a Mac
You can also change the Liquid Glass on a Mac and make it less transparent by adjusting the transparency of menus, windows and buttons.
- Open  ▸ System settings on your Mac
- Navigate to ‘accessibility’
- Click on ‘screen’
- Select the ‘Make less transparent’ option
- Optionally you can also switch on ‘increase contrast’
Just as with the iPhone and iPad, these options improves the contrast by reducing the transparency and blur of backgrounds, which increases readability. In addition, surfaces behind buttons are added for better distinction, such as in the photos app.