Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

Overall reaction & article context

• Many commenters say iOS/macOS/iPadOS 26 are the first Apple OS releases they actively dislike; some regret upgrading, others are delaying upgrades or even leaving the Apple ecosystem.
• A minority say Liquid Glass is “fine” or “delightful” and accuse critics of overreacting or just disliking change.
• Several note the NN/g article is clearly an editorial, not based on user studies, but still see its critiques as accurate.

Usability, readability & space

• Widespread complaints about low contrast, “text on text,” and translucent elements over busy or moving backgrounds making content harder to read, especially Notifications, Messages, Mail, and Safari.
• Bigger rounded elements, margins, and floating controls are seen as wasting screen real estate and shrinking visible content, especially on smaller iPhones and Macs with limited vertical space.
• Some appreciate that buttons look like buttons again and that search fields at the bottom are easier to reach, but argue this could have been done without Liquid Glass.

Performance, battery & bugs

• Many reports of lag, stutter, and overheating on iPhone 12/13/13 mini, 16 Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 10 and some Macs; others say performance is fine even on SE 3 or 13 Pro.
• Multiple anecdotes of sharply worse battery life after 26, including phones dying mid‑day that previously lasted all day.
• Users describe numerous visual and behavioral bugs (keyboard not appearing, misaligned controls, weird mode switches, memory leaks, CarPlay selection colors, WebKit regressions, guided access issues).

App- and device-specific regressions

• Safari: extra taps/gestures to open tabs, hidden tab button, inconsistent gestures, overlays obscuring content. Some revert to older tab layouts via settings.
• iPadOS 26 windowing: widely criticized for making touch-first multitasking far worse and removing Split View/Slide Over; feels designed for keyboard use, not touch.
• Watch, CarPlay, and FaceTime controls: animations and subtle selection states make quick interactions while driving or exercising harder.

Accessibility, ageing eyes & “invisible gestures”

• Commenters with mild vision issues find Liquid Glass punishing: harder to distinguish icons, emails, and widgets; brightness and small menu-bar text remain problematic.
• Strong pushback on the idea that “eyes can handle it” — people cite decades of visual design research and note accessibility benefits everyone (e.g., outdoors glare, fatigue).
• Heavy use of undiscoverable gestures (Safari tab access, iPad windowing, etc.) is criticized; people don’t want to learn “secret” interactions.

Workarounds & opt-outs

• Popular mitigations: Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, Reduce Motion, and related accessibility toggles; these often improve usability and performance but can make the UI uglier or introduce layout issues and letterboxing.
• Developers mention UIDesignRequiresCompatibility to disable Liquid Glass in their apps, but worry Apple may eventually ignore it.

Developer & ecosystem concerns

• Some iOS devs say Liquid Glass undermines years of work following Apple’s own Human Interface Guidelines and accessibility guidance.
• The mix of old UIKit and new Liquid Glass styles in stock apps is compared to Windows’ long-running “two UI worlds” problem.
• Startups worry they must now spend time re-skinning for a design system they dislike, rather than sharing a cross‑platform design language.

Broader interpretations & comparisons

• Many frame this as Apple’s “Vista/Aero” or “iOS 7” moment: flashy demo-ware that degrades everyday use.
• Several speculate this is rushed, resume-driven, or meant to unify with Vision Pro, and see it as a symptom of deeper dysfunction, long feedback cycles, and annual release pressure.
• Others counter that similar outrage accompanied past redesigns and predict users will adapt and forget, though critics argue this time the usability regressions are objectively worse.