Introducing Liquid Glass [Video]

Apple has pulled back the curtain on "Liquid Glass," the new design language set to debut with its next-generation operating systems. A new video, titled "Introducing Liquid Glass," offers the first official look at the visual philosophy that will define the user experience across all Apple platforms later this year.

The new design, which was rumored to be internally codenamed "Solarium," is built around a new material Apple calls Liquid Glass. "Inspired by the physicality and richness of visionOS, we challenged ourselves to make something purely digital feel natural and alive," the company explains in the video. Liquid Glass is described as a translucent material that "beautifully refracts light and dynamically reacts to your movement with specular highlights."

This marks a significant visual overhaul for Apple's software. "Our goal is a beautiful new design that brings joy and delight to every user experience, one that's more personal and puts greater focus on your content, all while still feeling instantly familiar," the company states. The redesign aims to create a more harmonious experience, with app windows and other elements now "perfectly concentric with the rounded corners of the hardware."


The video also demonstrates how this new aesthetic reshapes user interactions. Alerts now appear contextually from where a user taps, and as you scroll, "tab bars shrink to elevate what's in front of you, and they instantly come back the moment you scroll up." App icons are also getting the Liquid Glass treatment, crafted with multiple layers that will come alive in light and dark modes, plus new tinted and "clear" styles. The new design also carries over to the Dock and widgets.

This new aesthetic is already on display in the official wallpapers for the new operating systems. You can get a firsthand look by downloading the official iOS 26 wallpaper, the official iPadOS 26 wallpaper, and the official macOS Tahoe 26 wallpaper now.

Apple first showed off these changes at WWDC 2025, where it also announced the shift to a year-based naming system with new software like iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26. The unified design language is part of a larger effort to create a more cohesive and modern feel across the entire Apple ecosystem, a strategy that has been rumored for several months.

Take a look at the video below...