Apple has quietly addressed one of the biggest complaints about iOS 26 with the release of iOS 26.1. The update adds a new Tinted option for the system’s Liquid Glass design language – effectively allowing users to tone down the translucent backgrounds that many found distracting or hard to read.
Liquid Glass, introduced with iOS 26 in September, gave the iPhone interface a glossy, layered look designed to add depth and motion to menus and buttons. It looked great in demos but quickly proved divisive in practice, with users reporting legibility issues and visual clutter.
With the new Tinted mode, those semi-transparent menus are replaced with darker background colours that make text and icons much easier to see. There’s still a hint of translucency, but the added contrast makes everything feel clearer and less busy. The overall design language – the rounded panels, overlapping layers, and dynamic animations – remains intact, but the glassy see-through effect that irked so many users is now much less intense.
To try it yourself, open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, and look for the new Liquid Glass section. Here you’ll find the option to switch between Clear (the default) and Tinted modes.
The old workaround still exists too. If you go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and enable Reduce Transparency, you’ll get a completely opaque look that overrides the Liquid Glass settings entirely. It puts a plain background behind menu items with no show-through at all – ideal for anyone with visual impairments or who simply prefers a simpler aesthetic.
While this might seem like a small change, Apple has effectively extended an olive branch to its critics. Whether you love or loathe Liquid Glass, it’s good to see Apple listening to feedback and giving users a choice.