Apple has begun actively encouraging iPhone users to move from iOS 18 to iOS 26, and social media is filling up with people complaining about Liquid Glass, with the occasional compliment for the new look.
Trying to find out what most people really think about the new version, Cult of Mac polled its readers, and their answers might surprise you.
Liquid Glass in iOS 26 proves controversial with iPhone users
iOS 26 launched in September, and the signature feature is Liquid Glass — a translucent and fluid new interface. Many elements of the UI go semi-transparent, while clever effects make it seem like users are looking through glass at objects shown on the screen behind the Control Center and pop-up windows.
Three months later, many iPhone users are getting their first experience with the new UI. Anyone who has “Automatic Updates” turned on in their iPhone’s Settings is getting the update, though it still requires a passcode to install.
And Apple is nudging users to upgrade. The company recently changed the Software Update menu in Settings to place iOS 26 (and its latest versions, like iOS 26.1) front and center as the primary recommended update, moving any older iOS 18 security updates to a less prominent “Also Available” section
To be clear, Apple is not forcing iOS 26 on iPhone users. There are occasional posts on social media claiming, “I woke up this morning and my iPhone got iOS 26 all on its own,” but Apple does not do this. Some holdouts go years using obsolete iOS versions, and Apple does nothing.
Some users totally reject Liquid Glass
Liquid Glass is a significant departure from the look of iOS 18, and while iOS 26.1 makes it easy to turn down the transparency, some iPhone users reject the whole thing.
There are uncountable numbers of negative comments on social media. Just a few examples:
Dear @Apple, I absolutely despise your new iOS 26. I hate everything about it. I hate the developers who told you it was a good idea. I hate them personally. They lied to you. Everything about this is worse. — Jason Attas on X
This Liquid Glass UI is an accessibility nightmare. Apple UX designers should be fired. — Jeff Horne on X
I honestly hate this iOS update. Feels like my phone is in a cartoon. — ademusoyo on Threads
But iOS 26 also has plenty of fans
Mixed in with the criticism for iOS 26 on social media is plenty of praise. Again, a few positive comments as examples:
LOVE the new iPhone software update. Looks amazing! — Kev Rock on Threads
These bubbly interactions are some of the most beautiful aspects of Liquid Glass on iOS 26! — Minimal Nerd on X
I love this new iOS 26 update The Liquid Glass look & awesome interface makes my phone feel brand new. — Grace on Threads
Most Cult of Mac readers love iOS 26
Chart: Cult of Mac
With so many negative comments on social media about Apple’s latest iPhone update, Cult of Mac posted a poll in our daily newsletter asking, “After using it for a bit, what do you think of iOS 26 now?”
Almost 80% of respondents have a very positive or generally positive opinion of iOS 26. The top score, at about 55%, was “Mixed bag. Mostly good, some small issues.”
Only 7% of respondents picked “Not a fan! Wish I could downgrade.” That said, about 12% indicated they haven’t upgraded yet, which isn’t a ringing endorsement of the appeal of Liquid Glass.
It’s not part of a poll, but the Cult of Mac article explaining how to turn off Liquid Glass has been one of our most popular this week.
So why so many complaints?
Reading about iOS 26 on Reddit, X and other social media platforms, one might get the impression that virtually everyone hates Liquid Glass. There is certainly plenty of criticism of it. But that actually says more about human nature than Apple’s user interface.
Negative experiences trigger stronger emotional reactions than positive ones, motivating people to seek an outlet for their frustration. So people who don’t like Liquid Glass go online and vent.
In contrast, satisfied customers often take their positive experiences for granted. Apple designed a beautiful new iOS version, which is exactly what many people expected, so fans of Liquid Glass feel no urgency to share their feelings.
Also, some of the criticism comes from people who’ve clearly been using iOS 26 for only a few minutes. Remember that many people do not like change. It doesn’t matter whether the change will be good or bad over the long term — their initial reaction to anything new and different is that it’s bad. and they head to X, Threads or wherever to complain.
In short, reading social media isn’t the best way to find out what most people think about a topic. It’s all too easy to come away with the impression that everyone hates everything.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
