Remember when Apple ditched skeuomorphism in iOS 7 and everyone lost their minds about “flat design”? Well, buckle up buttercup, because we’re apparently doing this dance again. Apple just unveiled “Liquid Glass” at WWDC 2025, and the internet is having what can only be described as a collective design meltdown.
The best part? We’ve literally been here before. Multiple times. It’s like watching your uncle complain about “kids these days” while simultaneously posting minion memes on Facebook.
What Even Is Liquid Glass? (Besides a PR Nightmare)
Apple’s calling it their “broadest software design update ever” – which, translation: “we changed literally everything and you’re going to have feelings about it.” Liquid Glass is a translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, while dynamically transforming to help bring greater focus to content.
Basically, imagine if your iPhone interface got really into Instagram filters and decided transparency was its personality. The new design features real-time rendering, specular highlights, and enough visual effects to make a Windows Vista user nostalgic.
Oh, and it’s coming to iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. Because why change one thing when you can change ALL the things?
The Internet’s Reaction: Chef’s Kiss Predictable
The backlash has been… spectacular. Critics are suggesting Steve Jobs would have never approved the change, and investor Ross Gerber thinks Jobs would ‘have fired everyone’ over Apple’s Liquid Glass. Dan Ives called the entire WWDC 2025 a “yawner,” which is business speak for “I stayed awake through the whole thing but wished I hadn’t.”
My personal favorite take comes from TechRadar, who basically said “I can see right through it” – and honestly, that pun alone deserves a Pulitzer.
The complaints sound eerily familiar:
- “It’s too confusing!”
- “Where are the buttons?”
- “This isn’t what Steve would have wanted!”
- “Why fix what isn’t broken?”
Wait… haven’t we heard this song before?
A Brief History of Apple Design Freakouts
iOS 7 (2013): The Great Flattening Apple ditched the leather textures and glossy buttons of skeuomorphism for flat design. The internet response? “Everything looks like a children’s toy!” “Where’s the depth?” “My grandmother will never find the settings app!”
Fast forward 12 years later and… everyone forgot they ever complained. Flat design became so normal that we stopped calling it “flat design” – it was just “design.”
macOS Big Sur (2020): The Icon Controversy Apple rounded the corners on macOS icons and people acted like they’d personally attacked their childhood. Reddit threads exploded. Twitter fingers got busy. Six months later? Silence.
iOS 14 (2020): Widget Madness Home screen widgets arrived and suddenly everyone was a UX expert explaining why customization would “destroy iOS’s simplicity.” Today? Those same people are sharing their aesthetic widget setups on TikTok.
The Real Pattern Here
Here’s what actually happens with every major Apple design change:
- Initial Shock: “This is terrible! Change it back!”
- Grudging Acceptance: “Well, I guess it’s not that bad…”
- Stockholm Syndrome: “Actually, this is pretty nice…”
- Historical Revisionism: “The old design was outdated anyway.”
- Gatekeeping: “You wouldn’t understand, you didn’t live through the transition.”
We’re currently in Phase 1 with Liquid Glass. Give it 18 months and we’ll be in Phase 4, wondering how we ever lived without translucent tab bars.
But Seriously, Why Does This Keep Happening?
Because change is scary, and our phones are deeply personal. When Apple changes iOS, they’re not just updating an interface – they’re redecorating your digital home without asking permission.
The new design draws inspiration from the physicality and richness of visionOS, which makes sense when you realize Apple is basically training us for their spatial computing future. Today’s “unnecessary transparency” is tomorrow’s “seamless AR integration.”
Plus, let’s be honest: complaining about Apple design changes has become its own internet sport. It’s like arguing about pineapple on pizza – everyone has strong opinions and nobody’s changing their mind.
The Business Reality Check
Here’s the thing that all the design critics are missing: this design extends across platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26 — to establish even more harmony. Apple isn’t making these changes to annoy you (though that’s clearly a bonus feature).
They’re building a unified ecosystem that works across reality and virtual reality, preparing for a future where your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro feel like parts of the same cohesive experience.
Will some people struggle with the transition? Absolutely. Will they adapt? History says yes, because humans are remarkably good at complaining about change while simultaneously adapting to it.
The Bottom Line
In five years, we’ll be laughing at the Liquid Glass backlash the same way we laugh at people who thought the original iPhone would fail because it didn’t have a physical keyboard.
Apple’s betting that translucent, responsive interfaces are the future. The internet’s betting that they’re wrong. Based on the last 15 years of this exact same cycle, I’m putting my money on the company that somehow convinced us we needed $1,000 phones.
Besides, if you really hate Liquid Glass, just wait. In another 10 years, Apple will probably go back to skeuomorphic design and we can all argue about whether digital leather textures are “authentic” enough.
The circle of design life continues.
What’s your hot take on Liquid Glass? Are you team “beautiful innovation” or team “Steve is rolling in his grave”? Let’s continue this time-honored tradition of overreacting to interface changes in the comments.
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