Apple Releases Public Betas of Its New Software Updates With Liquid Glass (theverge.com) 26
Apple has released the first public betas of its upcoming operating systems with its new design language called Liquid Glass. The list of new betas includes iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. The Verge's Jay Peters reports: The design language is inspired by visionOS and, as the name implies, features a lot of transparency. I felt it was a wild change to my iPhone when I tried the first developer beta, and Apple has already tweaked some of the translucency and changed how Control Center looks in subsequent betas.
The new operating systems also have an updated numbering scheme: they now all end with 26, taking cues from how the car industry names its cars after the following year. It's a simpler and better system, if you ask me, and it should make it easier to know if you're on the newest software.
The new operating systems also have an updated numbering scheme: they now all end with 26, taking cues from how the car industry names its cars after the following year. It's a simpler and better system, if you ask me, and it should make it easier to know if you're on the newest software.
more astounding innovation (Score:2)
Transparency effects? like...umm.. double buffering from 20 years ago?
Discuss.
Yeah, Mac OS Classic innovation from early 1990s (Score:2)
more astounding innovation
Windows 95? Like cars?
Transparency effects? like...umm.. double buffering from 20 years ago? Discuss.
Mac OS Classic introduced the look and the techniques before Win95.
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In any case, Win 95 signaled the idea of adding the year, and we all said same thing at the time, "just like cars".
Cupertino, start your photocopiers (Score:3)
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My Jeep is a 2007.
What problem does transparency solve? (Score:3)
I never understood Apple's obsession with transparency - apparently it's the solution to a problem no one ever fucking had in the first place.
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The problem it solves is keeping Apple's UI design team gainfully employed. It's like that broken window parable, because now they've created an unending supply of work for themselves in trying to make this abomination legible.
As someone else previously said, Apple could easily give their users an option to just turn this shit off, but that'd be very un-Apple of them.
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The problem it solves is keeping Apple's UI design team gainfully employed. It's like that broken window parable, because now they've created an unending supply of work for themselves in trying to make this abomination legible.
As someone else previously said, Apple could easily give their users an option to just turn this shit off, but that'd be very un-Apple of them.
This has been a solved problem for X Window Managers for decades. Give a transparency setting that goes from zero percent to 100% and let the user decide. But as you say, Apple is *NOT* going to allow user choice in the UI. That would give the users the illusion that the computer was theirs. And we can't have that idea seeping into the data cattle.
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I'm hearing from Apple employees on Twitter that this is internal work being done to prepare for augmented reality, Packaged as a UI refresh to give them the UI layers they need for the OS.
I never understood Apple's obsession with augmented reality - apparently it's the solution to a problem no one ever fucking had in the first place.
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You've never forgotten a name? You've never forgotten to pick something up at the store? Never cared for a sick child?
Augmented reality done well, together with a little imagination, solves a lot of real-world problems. We're nowhere near doing augmented reality well though.
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You've never forgotten a name? You've never forgotten to pick something up at the store? Never cared for a sick child?
Augmented reality done well, together with a little imagination, solves a lot of real-world problems. We're nowhere near doing augmented reality well though.
You describe user-focused augmented reality. The reality we live in will be augmented with data-collection and advertising. That's the problem the tech companies are trying to solve, how to keep the data collection running 24/7, and how to make sure the advertising never, ever, stops.
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Futurama really nailed it back in 2010, eh?
"With the new eyePhone, you can watch, listen, ignore your friends, stalk your ex, download porno on a crowded bus, even check your E-mail while getting hit by a train. All with the new eyePhone."
I thought it was low-hanging fruit at the time but it's actually prophetic. Or maybe it's just life imitating art.
The OS turned into a hardware demo. (Score:2)
I never understood Apple's obsession with transparency - apparently it's the solution to a problem no one ever fucking had in the first place.
It's what happens when you pair an advanced GPU with every CPU you make. The OS turns into a hardware demo. :-)
What problem does transparency solve?
Masking and compositing the various layers of stuff that combine to make up your user interface elements, and the application's main display area.
Programmers can get quite lazy nowadays. Defined multiple transparent layers in your main display area, draw different things to different layers. Let the OS composite, its a little bit reminiscent of hardware sprites.
Re: What problem does transparency solve? (Score:2)
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Still waiting for the gumdrops to return.
Haven't felt the urge to lick screen in years!
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I never understood Apple's obsession with transparency - apparently it's the solution to a problem no one ever fucking had in the first place.
Good design is a blend of form and functionality. Form without function is pointless. Function without form is bland. Your question focusses solely on function and ignores the fact that some of the Liquid Glass features simply look nice - such as concentrically matching the radius of elements to the corner radius of the physical screen.
There are also function changes if you care to look, such as shrinking tap bar elements while scrolling to focus on the screen content. Maybe not revolutionary, but small en
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I will bet you $10,000 that my Apple phone is still working in two months. Hell, I'll give you an extra month for free and make it 3 months.
Wanna take that bet? We can put the money in escrow and see who is $10,000 richer in 3 months.
Updated this morning (Score:3)
I'm doing SwiftUI app development and upgraded one of my test devices to iOS 26 beta 4 this morning.
I don't see anything different, but I assume something different is happening under the hood.
...laura
I feel like... (Score:2)
we already saw this in Windows 8 or something.
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It's a design trend and it can be pointed to at various places where it really started. Honestly I liked Aero, so for me just like command-tab copied ctrl-tab - I don't care. If it's good, I'll take it. I haven't tried any of the betas so I don't know which side of the fence I'll land on yet.
Real Liquid Glass (Score:2)
The design language is inspired by visionOS and, as the name implies, features a lot of transparency.
Real liquid glass is generally hot, viscous and often quite opaque until it becomes cooler and less liquid. That's what its name implies. If they wanted something fluid and transparent alcohol would have been a much better choice....but I suspect they drank all of that before coming up with the name.
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Real liquid glass is generally hot, viscous and often quite opaque until it becomes cooler and less liquid. That's what its name implies.
The screen is lava!
Misrepresent Cnosequences (Score:2)