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Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

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Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#111

Post by donmcronald »

porcoda wrote: post #31

This update is one of the rare cases where I really dislike the new version. I’m usually happy with Apple updates, even ones the commentators dislike. This time I’m sorta agreeing with them: I don’t like the new iOS. Same with the Mac and iPad: other than being glitchy, I just don’t like the changes. It feels like my screen real estate isn’t as efficiently used, UI elements feel jumbled and the transparency makes thi…

On my Mac I almost laugh at how massive the borders are to accommodate the freakishly large corner radius. The next version might have round windows at this pace.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#112

Post by game_the0ry »

I am so glad I am not the only one.

I see like 3-5 UI bugs a day in iOS 26. Liquid ass, indeed. Some apple product VP really wanted to be the next Steve Jobs, took 4 steps backwards instead.

I'll probably end up switching to android eventually, and I am bummed about it bc I am an apple fan boy and I like the ecosystem.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#113

Post by jdsnape »

rfmc wrote: post #55
captn3m0 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I made the mistake of upgrading (13 Mini) and it is very clear that the new UI was not tested at all on smaller screens. The rounded buttons take up so much extra margin that actual usable space is greatly diminished.

How's the battery on your 13 Mini? Mine is abhorrent compared to a few weeks ago.

I have a 12 mini and have also found that 26 has killed my battery life.

I also agree that they didn’t test it on smaller screens, there are lots of cases where things don’t quite fit right.

I’ve been wanting a better camera for a little while, I guess it’s time to adjust to something bigger :\

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#114

Post by Reason077 »

whycome wrote: post #67
porcoda wrote: post #31

This update is one of the rare cases where I really dislike the new version. I’m usually happy with Apple updates, even ones the commentators dislike. This time I’m sorta agreeing with them: I don’t like the new iOS. Same with the Mac and iPad: other than being glitchy, I just don’t like the changes. It feels like my screen real estate isn’t as efficiently used, UI elements feel jumbled and the transparency makes thi…

It’s terrible from a UX standpoint. By definition, translucent elements present more potential information to a user. It makes it harder to parse certain screens. It’s a nightmare if you have subtle vision issues (where it’s not bad enough you’d need to enable accessibility options). You’re not going to “get used to it” — you’re really just adapting to a crippled interface. I think it all stems from trying to unify t…

The problem is designs and elements that were carefully considered and crafted for Vision OS don't always translate well when grafted into iOS and macOS. What looks elegant and modern in AR can look garish, distracting, and old-fashioned on a more traditional device.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#115

Post by MYEUHD »

Reason077 wrote: post #77
rfmc wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How's the battery on your 13 Mini? Mine is abhorrent compared to a few weeks ago.

I have the standard iPhone 13 (not mini) and the battery longevity is probably the best of any phone I've ever owned. At over 3.5 years old it still reports 89% battery health and lasts much longer than I need. Previous iPhones I owned were all pretty much on their last legs by that age. I haven't upgraded it to iOS 26 / Liquid Glass, though, and given what I'm seeing/hearing, I don't plan to.

The question was how much the update to iOS 26 affected battery life

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#116

Post by donmcronald »

98codes wrote: post #109
mfro wrote: post #5

Literally every change made in iOS 26 feels like a downgrade to me. This is the first time I have ever considered downgrading iOS.

Settings -> Accessibility -> Display & Text Size -> enable Reduce Transparency That made a world of difference for me.

I did this on all my Apple devices about 60 seconds after the update. I don't know how people can use things like iMessage with the defaults.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#117

Post by jjfoooo4 »

nomel wrote: post #88
kevinsundar wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can actually swipe up from the search field at the bottom and that will show all tabs. (If anyone is reading this from apple, that animation should be sped up). However, this doesn't work if you've scrolled down already and the bar is minimized. It literally flashes as if to acknowledge your swipe and does nothing. Also if you miss by moving your thumb just slightly lower, you'll close the app haha. They thought…

You can also swipe left and right to switch tabs, in any state. But, as you suggest, you have to tap the url to "bring it up" so it can be safely dragged upward, which is annoying. If they polish this a bit, I think it will be very nice.

Just because it took me a second to figure out: swiping left or right works when done on the search bar, not anywhere on the screen

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#118

Post by [deleted] »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #16

All of this is true. The first thing I did was turn down transparency. But there's no way to tone down the new animations, which make the UI feel twitchy and distracting. And there are some stupidly obvious bugs - like the WEATHER header in the weather app is black on a dark background. And the way the buttons at the bottom of the page are tight up against the content instead of being centred in the space under it. I…

[deleted]

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#119

Post by nixpulvis »

> Now, in iOS 26, search has migrated to the bottom of the screen and is always visible.

Holy shit, why?!

Clicking the too of the screen always would bring you back to the top and then search was right there! This is what we get when people cater to the lowest denominator and try holding the hands of people I don't want to be lumped in with.

Re: Liquid Glass Is Cracked, and Usability Suffers in iOS 26

#120

Post by heywoods »

nomel wrote: post #88
kevinsundar wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can actually swipe up from the search field at the bottom and that will show all tabs. (If anyone is reading this from apple, that animation should be sped up). However, this doesn't work if you've scrolled down already and the bar is minimized. It literally flashes as if to acknowledge your swipe and does nothing. Also if you miss by moving your thumb just slightly lower, you'll close the app haha. They thought…

You can also swipe left and right to switch tabs, in any state. But, as you suggest, you have to tap the url to "bring it up" so it can be safely dragged upward, which is annoying. If they polish this a bit, I think it will be very nice.

So many changes over the years and some of them might actually be decent but I wouldn’t have known about this had I not read this comment or accidentally triggered it in the future. Has Apple experimented with “micro” tutorials that can pop up if they detect the user is performing an action in an inefficient/deprecated pattern? I.e. if in Safari I navigate to all tabs by tapping at the bottom —> hamburger icon —> all tabs a one time modal pops up showing the ux pattern they recommend
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