If Your iPhone Is On This List, Upgrade It Now — Liquid Glass ‘Isn’t Going Anywhere’

Source Domain: tech.yahoo.com

If you have one of the iPhones below and you haven’t upgraded to the latest software cycle, iOS 26, because of the new design, you should now because Liquid Glass is sticking around, a new report claims.

Apple iPhone 16

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Which iPhones Are Affected?

The iPhones which support iOS 26 are numerous. Any model from the iPhone 11 series onwards, right up to the iPhone 16 series are included. That also means the second-and third-generation iPhone SE. The latest iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air are unaffected as they had iOS 26 installed at launch.

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Apple introduced a controversial new design when it launched iOS 26 in September 2025. But uptake was slower at first, partly because the new Liquid Glass design was not universally liked.

In the U.K., this situation might be referred to as being, “a bit Marmite,” referring to the yeast extract spread which people either love or hate. (So you know, it is actually delicious and the haters are quite wrong.)

The Future Of iPhone Software Design

For Liquid Glass, some found the new design hampered clarity or made items less legible. But the latest edition of Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg describes what’s going on. “The reaction wasn’t all positive. Apple software updates always draw gripes — and this was the most dramatic overhaul to the iPhone and iPad operating systems in a dozen years,” he said.

But late in 2025, Apple’s human interface chief, Alan Dye, left the company, meaning some thought the situation would change and Liquid Glass might be dropped.

“Dye oversaw development and introduced the interface, and some wondered if Apple would still be committed to it. There also was growing praise for Dye’s replacement, Steve Lemay, from both inside and outside Apple — with some even pitching him as some sort of savior that would take Apple in a new direction,” Gurman went on. “The reality, though, is that…

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