More assorted notes on Liquid Glass

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Perceived Strategic Motives (AR & “service layer” over apps)

  • Several commenters see Liquid Glass as preparation for AR: a unified, bland, layered UI that can be reused on glasses/visionOS and across devices.
  • Idea: force apps into a visually neutral, OS‑branded shell so Apple can render them consistently in AR and present itself as the primary “service provider” while third parties become interchangeable fulfillment backends (ride‑hailing, hotels, food, etc.).
  • Some welcome this fungibility for transactional services (travel, taxis, food) because it reduces friction; others dislike the loss of “evil B of X” middlemen only to get a bigger “benevolent A” (Apple) on top.

Brand Unification vs App Personality

  • Strong tension between wanting apps to follow platform conventions and wanting them to retain distinct identities.
  • One camp likes Apple pushing consistency and resents apps that ignore native UI; another argues Apple is suppressing third‑party branding to elevate its own.
  • Icon tinting and Liquid Glass styling are seen as further eroding app individuality.

Usability, Legibility & Accessibility

  • Many reports of lower contrast, blur, washed‑out icons, ambiguous button states, and extra whitespace reducing information density.
  • Concerns that transparency and layered glass make text and controls harder to see, especially for older users or those with impairments.
  • Accessibility toggles like “Reduce Transparency” and “Increase Contrast” help, but are hidden; some dislike being pushed into “second‑class,” uglier modes just to regain clarity.
  • Rounded corners and smaller hit targets on already small screens are called out as regressions.

Fashion, Sales & Organizational Incentives

  • Multiple comments frame the redesign as UI “fashion” to signal novelty and drive sales, not functional improvement.
  • Others blame internal incentives: large design orgs must ship change to justify themselves; management lacks incentive to leave a stable UI alone.
  • Pushback that fashion isn’t trivial: people expect visual refreshes, but critics argue fashion alone can’t justify breaking learned interfaces.

Impact on Developers & Tooling

  • Liquid Glass alters dimensions and behaviors, worrying developers relying on UIKit/AutoLayout; some resort to compatibility flags to block the new look.
  • SwiftUI is seen as better aligned with the new system, raising fears of pressure to migrate.
  • Some speculate Apple also wants to make native apps visually distinct from web/Electron/portable‑toolkit apps.

User Reception & “Nerd vs Normal” Split

  • Early beta users are split: some “absolutely love it” after a short adjustment; others liked it at first then soured on daily use.
  • A recurring view: mainstream users will complain briefly, adapt, and mostly not care—while “nerds” act as canaries for deeper usability and accessibility issues.