iOS 26 adoption lags big apps
- Apple’s iOS 26 introduced the new “Liquid Glass” interface in 2025, but many big third-party apps still look older, leaving iPhone users moving between Apple’s redesign and pre-iOS 26 layouts. - Apple says apps built with standard SwiftUI, UIKit, or AppKit components can inherit much of the new look automatically, but custom interfaces and older codebases still need extra redesign work. - Apple is now publicly showcasing early adopters like AllTrails and Tide Guide, underscoring that rollout has been uneven months after launch. (developer.apple.com)
Apple rolled out iOS 26 with its new “Liquid Glass” design, but many major apps still have not fully switched over. (apple.com 1) (apple.com 2) Liquid Glass is Apple’s new interface material: translucent controls, shifting reflections, and navigation elements that morph as you move through apps. Apple presented it in June 2025 as a systemwide redesign across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. (apple.com) (developer.apple.com) Apple’s developer guidance says apps that rely on standard SwiftUI, UIKit, or AppKit controls can pick up much of the new appearance by building with the latest software development kits and running on the latest operating systems. Apps with heavily customized interfaces have more manual work. (developer.apple.com 1) (developer.apple.com 2) That split helps explain the uneven look users are seeing. Apple’s own interface has changed at the system level, while third-party apps update on their own release schedules, with separate design, testing, and compatibility work. (developer.apple.com 1) (developer.apple.com 2) Apple has started highlighting developers that moved faster. Its 2026 design gallery features apps including AllTrails and Tide Guide as examples of Liquid Glass navigation bars, glass buttons, and redesigned toolbars. (developer.apple.com) (developer.apple.com) The gallery itself is a sign that adoption is still in progress. Apple is not presenting the redesign as universal across the App Store; it is pointing to selected apps that already made visible changes. (developer.apple.com) (developer.apple.com) Outside Apple’s own materials, the lag has turned into a user complaint. One widely shared write-up described iPhone screens as “a strange mix of two worlds,” with some apps already updated and others still anchored in older interface patterns. (macobserver.com) The practical issue is not just paint. Liquid Glass changes how controls sit over content, how toolbars collapse, and how motion and translucency behave, so teams with custom navigation, branding, or cross-platform code have to decide what to keep and what to rebuild. (developer.apple.com) (developer.apple.com) For iPhone users, that means iOS 26 can feel newest in Apple’s own apps and more transitional elsewhere. Until more large developers ship redesigns, the platform will keep looking partly Liquid Glass and partly last year. (apple.com) (developer.apple.com)
