With the fourth beta of iOS 26, Apple has again made changes to the Liquid Glass design that's available across the operating system, tweaking how the menus and buttons appear in apps.
In response to criticism about too little Liquid Glass in beta 3, Apple has upped the translucency in several areas.
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Navigation bars in apps like Photos, Music, the App Store, Podcasts, are slightly clearer, allowing more of the background color to show through.
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Apple cut down on the frosted glass look, but the changes are small enough that text remains readable, so it appears to be more of a balance between beta 2 and beta 3.
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Control Center, the Lock Screen, and the Home Screen look largely the same, so most of the transparency changes are focused on app navigation bars and buttons. On the Lock Screen, though, the background darkens as you scroll through notifications.
Beta 4 on right, beta 3 on left
Apple will likely continue to make small changes to Liquid Glass based on user feedback, and we won't see the finalized version of the design until iOS 26 is released in the fall.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 12:45 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to Financial Times sources. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019....
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Please for love of sanity MacRumors, be consistent with which image you put on the right versus left. I generally try not to be overly critical, but this is egregious. Also, while you're at it, choose (before=left) and (after=right). This is generally standard as people usually look left to right to match the way they read.
'Liquid Glass' is such an unnecessary and unwanted update. It's simply change for the sake of change because the functional improvements from each iteration of iOS are minimal, at best.
This is worse than beta 3. What the hell is going on at Apple with these UI designers?! Readability is difficult with this nonsense "Liquid Glass" crap. I rather have frosted glass since it's more legible. And forget about the old people because they sure as hell will be having a difficult time reading stuff when iOS26 final comes out this fall. I already have everyone in the "elder" age group telling me it's difficult to see stuff now. Whoever's in charge of the design and UI department needs to be fired.
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Beta 4 on left, beta 3 on right
Beta 4 on right, beta 3 on left
