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Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

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With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.

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If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then choose "Tinted." The Tinted option increases the opacity of Liquid Glass UI elements and improves contrast, while the Clear option is the standard Liquid Glass look.

Apple's new option looks different in both light and dark mode, increasing opacity in color consistent with each option. It works for Lock Screen notifications and within apps to make menu and navigation bars less transparent, but there is little to no change with other parts of the OS like Control Center, the App Library, and app icons and widgets on the Home Screen.

iOS 26.1 beta 4 is available to developers and public beta testers at the current time. We're expecting iOS 26.1 to be released later in October, and that's when everyone will have access to the new settings.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Related Forum: iOS 26

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Top Rated Comments

bulletspongesquarepants Avatar
bulletspongesquarepants
8 months ago
I'm not a fan of any transparency on any OS (first thing i turn off) so its nice to see we are getting more options. 👍
Score: 46 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tazinlwfl Avatar
tazinlwfl
8 months ago
Thanks for the info. Probably never going to change it. Love Clear.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2
212rikanmofo
8 months ago
Liquid Glass is the worst thing ever. So difficult to see, especially for older people. If ever though of this idea and supports it should be immediately fired from Apple.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carswell Avatar
carswell
8 months ago
Reduced transparency is better than nothing but what I really want is the option to turn it off altogether.

I also want to be able to get rid of the "shiny" outline borders around icons, home screen clock digits, etc. Makes the screen busy and cluttered, does nothing to increase usability and isn't even a convincing lighting effect since it highlights opposite corners. Others may not be bothered by this but I find it irritating in the extreme.

Staying with iOS 18 and MacOS 18 until these issues are resovled. I upgraded to iPadOS 26 to get the windowing features on my iPad Pro (pretty impressive, especially for a first iteration) but now find the rest of the UI on this pricey device at times near-illegible (e.g. skinny black text on a medium-dark grey background in the Settings search box) and irritating (that word again). And that's despite having transparency minimized, dark mode enabled and a pure black wallpaper.

YMMV but IMHO Apple blew it big time with this one.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
Richard Ripley
8 months ago
I do not like Liquid Glass. I thought that one of the main reasons to have devices such as a Mac or an iPhone or an iPad was to get work done. Yes, I'm a big fan of fun and a pleasurable experience when it comes to UI (DogCow anyone?) but Liquid Glass sometimes makes getting things done a LOT harder.

I have tried turning on Reduce Transparency and that makes a mess of folder displays in Dark Mode so I am using plain old Liquid Glass on iOS and iPad Os. I haven't moved to Tahoe because of Liquid Glass with the Mac OS.

I'm hoping that the new setting described here makes things more legible and easier to read. When Ive was working at Apple sometimes form followed function (keyboards, etc.) and Liquid Glass seems a return to this thinking - a gimmick that in some instances makes things hard to read, is not my idea of a good idea. 😃
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rafagon Avatar
Rafagon
8 months ago

I want more glass effects not just standard
You can buy these at your local Apple Store. They're priced competitively. This gives you more granular control over how "liquid" your "glass" appears.



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Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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