SwiftUI Liquid Glass: The Complete iOS 26 Guide

Liquid Glass represents the biggest evolution in Apple design since iOS 7. Introduced at WWDC 2025, this new visual language unifies iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. Let's discover how to implement it in your SwiftUI and UIKit applications.

Liquid Glass is not just a visual effect. It's a digital meta-material that simulates the optical properties of glass: translucency, refraction, depth, and response to movement. Unlike traditional blur effects that scatter light, Liquid Glass uses lensing — it bends and focuses light in real time.

The fundamental characteristics:

Apple clearly defines the hierarchy:

Content stays at the base level, glass controls float above. This separation creates depth and visual hierarchy.

Good news: by simply recompiling with Xcode 26, many system elements automatically adopt Liquid Glass.

The tint and interactive modifiers enrich the effect:

Important: Tint should convey semantic meaning (primary action, state), not mere decoration. Use it selectively for call-to-actions.

Glass cannot sample another glass. GlassEffectContainer provides a shared sampling region and allows elements to merge visually when they get close.

The spacing controls the morphing threshold — elements at this distance or less merge visually:

To create morphing animations between states, use glassEffectID with a namespace:

Buttons emerge from the main button and get reabsorbed into it thanks to fluid morphing!

iOS 26 introduces two glass button styles:

For UIKit or hybrid projects:

The system automatically handles accessibility, but you can react if necessary:

Users can adjust Liquid Glass:

Tip: Let the system handle accessibility automatically. Only intervene if absolutely necessary.

To support previous versions, create a conditional modifier:

Here's a complete application demonstrating Liquid Glass:

The modifier .glassEffect(.regular.interactive(), in: RoundedRectangle()) sometimes responds with a Capsule shape.

Workaround: Use .buttonStyle(.glass) for buttons.

Rendering artifacts may appear with .glassProminent and .circle.

Workaround:

On iOS 26.1, placing a Menu in a GlassEffectContainer can break the morphing animation.

Workaround: Avoid this combination or use .glassEffect(.regular.interactive()) directly on the Menu.

Liquid Glass represents much more than an aesthetic change — it's a new way of thinking about interfaces. By respecting the content/navigation hierarchy, using appropriate containers, and testing accessibility, you'll create applications that naturally integrate into the iOS 26 ecosystem.

Key principles to remember:

In an upcoming article, we'll explore Icon Composer, the new Xcode tool for creating multi-layer Liquid Glass icons that adapt to Light, Dark, Tinted, and Clear modes.