Apple on June 9, 2025, previewed a software redesign that it says will run across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV, bringing one visual language to the company’s major platforms for the first time. The material at the center of the update is called Liquid Glass, a translucent system that reflects and refracts its surroundings and shifts with context. Apple says the goal is to make apps and system experiences feel more expressive and vital while still looking instantly familiar.
The company said the new design extends across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. That unification matters as much as the visual treatment itself. Apple has long treated each platform separately, but this redesign tries to make them feel related without erasing the differences that make each one work on its own hardware. Liquid Glass appears in controls, navigation, app icons, widgets and other interface elements, and Apple says the design is informed by the depth and dimensionality of visionOS.
In practical terms, the redesign touches the parts of the interface people handle every day. Buttons, sliders, switches, text, media controls, tab bars and sidebars are being reworked so they sit more naturally with the rounded edges of modern devices and windows. Apple says controls now act as a distinct layer above apps, which lets them yield to content when needed and expand again when users want more options. In iOS 26, tab bars shrink when users scroll and then fluidly expand when they return to the top. On iPadOS and macOS, updated sidebars are meant to make apps such as Apple TV feel more immersive.
The redesign also reaches system surfaces that shape the feel of each device before any app opens. The Lock Screen time display is now built from Liquid Glass so it can adapt around photo subjects. The Home Screen and desktop get layered app icons, widgets and a Dock with clearer personalization options. On macOS Tahoe 26, Apple says users will be able to tint icons and widgets in light or dark variants or switch to a clear look, while the menu bar becomes transparent to make the display feel larger. Apple is also updating Camera, Photos, Safari, FaceTime, Apple Music, Apple News and Apple Podcasts to match the new look.
For developers, the update is meant to be easier to adopt than a complete rewrite. Apple says updated APIs in SwiftUI, UIKit and AppKit make it possible to use the new materials and controls across apps. The company framed the work as a continuation of its long emphasis on tight hardware-software integration, but with a stronger emphasis on motion, depth and responsiveness. In Apple’s telling, Liquid Glass is not just a new skin. It is the base layer for how the company expects its software to look and behave across the next generation of devices.
The announcement also signals an attempt to slow a subtle drift toward visual clutter. Apple is trying to make the system feel calmer, not busier, even as it adds more motion and layering. That balance matters because the company sells its interfaces as both expressive and easy to recognize. Liquid Glass is therefore as much about restraint as it is about spectacle.
