Apple Introduces Liquid Glass Causing Usability Backlash
Apple introduced Liquid Glass in June 2025 and shipped it with OS 26 in September 2025, prompting widespread user complaints about slow animations, poor legibility, and battery-draining effects. Reviews from NN/g and Wired criticized usability and aesthetic choices, and Apple saw leadership departures including VP Alan Dye in December 2025. The backlash has led to design adjustments and renewed scrutiny of Apple's product design direction.
Key Points
- 1Launches Apple releases Liquid Glass with OS 26 in 2025, prompting widespread complaints about usability and legibility.
- 2Highlights transparency and animation choices undermine established Apple interaction patterns and increase battery and cognitive load.
- 3Impacts designers and product teams by emphasizing need for legibility-first design tests and configurable visual defaults.
Scoring Rationale
Strong industry relevance and credible sourcing drive score, but limited methodological novelty and moderate actionable specifics constrain impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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