How to turn liquid glass into a solid interface

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction to Liquid Glass

  • Majority of commenters dislike the new design, especially on iOS; words like “abomination”, “trash”, “hostile”, and “Vista moment” are common.
  • A minority find it fine or even like it, especially on macOS where they say it’s less pervasive and more subtle.

Usability, readability, and accessibility

  • Main complaint: readability and contrast are objectively worse. Transparent/blurred layers over wallpapers make text, icons, and notifications harder to see.
  • Many see it as “form over function”: more motion, blur, and rounded corners but no functional gain.
  • Accessibility settings (Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, Add/Show Borders, Reduce Motion, Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions) are widely recommended and reported to significantly improve usability.
  • Some settings introduce new glitches (Safari tab bar artifacts, odd animations, weird Safari viewport behavior, hit-area issues).
  • Inconsistencies bother people: varying corner radii, different window/button treatments even among Apple’s own apps, and animation bugs that become impossible to “unsee.”

Bugs and performance issues

  • Reports of jank, sluggishness, and battery/thermal problems, especially on older devices (iPhone 13 mini, SE, older iPads).
  • Specific bugs: shrinking keyboard, invisible “phantom” keyboard areas pushing up page content, missing menu bar icons when Liquid Glass is disabled, misaligned screens, unresponsive controls during animations.

Workarounds and their fragility

  • System-level toggles plus hidden flags:
    • macOS com.apple.SwiftUI.DisableSolarium
    • UIDesignRequiresCompatibility in app Info.plist
  • Several commenters believe these are temporary; some report the hidden macOS flag already stopped working in 26.1.
  • Developers struggle to support both pre‑glass and Liquid Glass in the same app.

Critique of design and corporate culture

  • Many see this as “change for the sake of change,” driven by:
    • Resume- and shareholder-driven incentives
    • Annual release pressure demanding visible “innovation”
  • Compared to earlier eras where UI design followed research-heavy HIGs and usability studies; now perceived as driven by “vibes” and aesthetics metrics.
  • Broader frustration with constant UI churn (Apple, Android, Windows, YouTube, Spotify) and its impact on older or less technical users.

Mixed and historical perspectives

  • Some see parallels with Windows Vista, early Compiz/Beryl eye-candy, and iOS 7 frosted glass—but argue those earlier systems showed more restraint or clearer layering.
  • A few argue users always hate redesigns at first and expect Liquid Glass to be refined over years, though many insist this one starts from an unusually bad baseline.