iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design Drama: Beta 2 vs. Beta 3 Changes in Every App

Apple has been refining Liquid Glass during the developer beta testing process, and both beta two and beta three have introduced some major tweaks. There was little outcry over the updates that Apple made in the second beta, but the third beta's design updates have frustrated some users who feel that Apple is removing too much of the Liquid Glass aesthetic.

For context, Apple made navigation bars more opaque across many apps in iOS 26 beta 3, and we've got a series of side-by-side comparisons that demonstrate what's different. In all of the comparison images, beta 2 is on the left and beta 3 is on the right.

Apple Music

Apple Music's bottom navigation bar is more opaque, and it has the frosted glass look that Apple is now favoring. The change is most noticeable when scrolling over a background that has color. In beta 2, the navigation bar was almost translucent, allowing much of the background color to shine through. That effect is significantly reduced in beta 3.

Safari

The changes in Safari vary depending on what you're doing, the background color of the website, and which Tab View design you're using. In general, the URL bar is more opaque and less prone to notable shifts in color. Less of the background comes through.

The URL bar will still change from light to dark if the content you're scrolling over is predominantly dark, but there's a higher threshold for that to kick on.

It's easiest to see the difference with the Compact View, because it was the most translucent view to begin with.

App Store

The App Store's navigation bar has one of the most noticeable changes, and it's almost entirely opaque now.

Light Mode

Dark Mode

Podcasts

As with ‌Apple Music‌, translucency has been almost entirely eliminated in the Podcasts navigation bar. The change is easiest to see with backgrounds that have color.

Apple TV

The Apple TV app has a darker background and the change is more subtle. The overlaying navigation bar is a darker glass color, but transparency appears to be similar.

Photos

For the Photos app, Apple tweaked the design in a similar way to the ‌Apple TV‌ app. The navigation bar is darker, but there's been little change to transparency.

Calendar

Calendar's navigation buttons are more opaque, both in Light Mode and ‌Dark Mode‌.

Keyboard

The Spotlight Search keyboard is both more and less translucent. The keyboard itself has slightly more background visible, but the search bar is darker.

Dark Mode

‌Dark Mode‌ has retained more transparency than Light Mode for the most part, so you may see less of a difference if you have ‌Dark Mode‌ enabled permanently. Some menu bar elements are darker than before, but white text on a dark background is more readable so Apple had to increase the opaqueness less.

This isn't true for all apps, though, and there are areas with dark navigation bars that also have less translucency.

Color Dependency

The difference that you see between beta 2 and beta 3 can vary quite a bit depending on the color in the background. With some white backgrounds, it's hard to tell that the Liquid Glass has a more frosted appearance, and the updates are mostly noticeable with light colors.

Over content that is are darker, navigation bars will often transition to their ‌Dark Mode‌ view that appears more translucent, as can be seen in the Safari screenshot below. This is the same effect you'll see with ‌Dark Mode‌ enabled.

Notifications, Lock Screen, and Home Screen

On the Lock Screen, the time is ever so slightly more opaque than it was before. With some background colors, notifications also have a darker background than before, but this isn't always noticeable. Home Screen and Control Center haven't changed much if at all.

For App Library, the search bar doesn't have blurred edges when scrolling, which makes it easier to see. Apple hasn't changed translucency.

Other App Changes

Most of Apple's built-in apps have tweaked buttons and navigation bars in ‌iOS 26‌ beta 3, with repeats of the design changes listed above.

• Weather - The buttons at the bottom of the app are much darker than before, and the search button is no longer translucent.
• Camera - No noticeable change.
• FaceTime - No noticeable change.
• Messages - The search bar isn't as translucent, nor is the message compose bar. Popover buttons haven't changed.
• Maps - Maps is actually more translucent, because it's using Liquid Glass for the turn-by-turn directions that are shown at the top of the app.
• Mail - Buttons have less translucency.
• Notes - The buttons and navigation bar in the Notes app already had little translucency, but it's been reduced further and is almost non-existent.
• Reminders - When you're composing a Reminder, the toolbar has less translucency. The search bar and popover menus are the same.
• Clock - No change.
• Health - The Health app's navigation bar and search bar are a little less transparent, but it was already fairly opaque.
• Wallet - Buttons aren't as transparent, so if you scroll over something with bright colors, it's no longer visible behind the button.
• Settings - The Search bar is more opaque.
• Find My - No change.
• Stocks - The translucency of Top Stories is unchanged, but the search bar has increased opacity.
• Home - Less opacity overall for navigation bar and home control buttons.
• Books - Navigation menus and search have less translucency.
• Fitness - Little change because the app uses a darker background, but the buttons are a touch darker than before.
• Contacts - Less translucency for search.
• Files - Less translucency for navigation bar and search.
• Translate - No change.
• Shortcuts - Less translucency for navigation bar. Keyboard translucency remains the same.
• Calculator - History interface is more opaque.
• Voice Memos - No change.
• Compass - No change.
• Passwords - Navigation bar and search interface lost translucency.
• Games - Navigation bar is darker and less translucent.
• Preview - No change.

What do you think of the changes that Apple made in ‌iOS 26‌ beta 3? Are you hoping for some of the Liquid Glass design to be reimplemented, or do you prefer the more opaque look? Let us know in the comments below.