When Apple released iOS 26.1 on Nov. 3, the company introduced a setting to your iPhone that lets you adjust some Liquid Glass elements, like your Notification Center and some search bars. But there’s a way to change the Liquid Glass design across your device, including your home and lock screens, in just a few easy steps.
Apple brought Liquid Glass to all iPhones when the company released iOS 26 in September. This redesign is the most dramatic visual update Apple has brought to your iPhone since the company released iOS 7 in 2013. The redesign makes menus and other visual elements appear translucent, and some elements squish and wiggle when you interact with them.
Some people were torn about the design when Apple released the developer beta of iOS 26. Apple tweaked the design during the iOS 26 beta process to improve legibility by adding more of a frosted look, but you still might not be happy with it. However, you can adjust the Liquid Glass design in just a few steps, significantly reducing its transparency.
Here’s how to make the Liquid Glass design in iOS 26 more legible across your whole device.
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How to adjust Liquid Glass
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Tap Display & Text Size.
4. Tap the toggle for Reduce Transparency.
This will darken any menus or elements affected by the Liquid Glass design, including in apps like Messages and your Control Center.
In the Display & Text Size menu, you can also tap the toggle next to Increase Contrast to help set Liquid Glass elements apart. When I enabled this toggle, it gave a lot of those elements a white outline.
If you want to use the Clear app icon option, I would not recommend enabling Reduce Transparency or Increase Contrast. I really like the Clear icons because they ensure your background is the main focus, but the icons are still visible enough to distinguish between each one. When these other options are enabled, it’s like the icons are taking center stage.
If you want to bring the Liquid Glass design elements back to your device, follow the above steps again to disable Reduce Transparency.
For more iOS news, here’s everything to know about iOS 26.1 and my review of the iOS 26. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.