Apple pitched its new Liquid Glass interface at WWDC25 as a major leap forward in design. It’s sleek, it’s transparent, and it ties together Apple’s platforms under a single visual theme. But despite the polish, the update feels more like a branding play than a necessary step in UI evolution.
Liquid Glass builds on iOS 7-era aesthetics with blurred backgrounds, translucent layers, and floating UI elements. It adds curved animations, dynamic light refractions, and a consistent look across iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and even Apple TV. That visual consistency is long overdue. Still, the interface seems more concerned with looking futuristic than solving actual usability problems. On devices like the Mac or Apple Watch, the design feels forced and distracting.
Apple’s attempt to blend form and function across all devices comes with trade-offs. What feels intuitive on an OLED iPhone display doesn’t translate well to an LCD Mac or a small Apple Watch screen. The shift also arrives without a clear reason. Liquid Glass doesn’t improve performance. It doesn’t unlock new features. It mostly changes how things look, polished but not transformative.
Hardware Limitations Undercut the Vision
Liquid Glass was designed with future Apple hardware in mind, especially the upcoming 20th-anniversary iPhone in 2027. That model will reportedly feature curved glass edges to complement the UI’s visual effects. Today’s devices, however, aren’t there yet. Macs don’t have touchscreens or OLED displays. The Apple Watch Ultra’s flat screen clashes with the curved design language. These mismatches make the interface feel like a preview, not a present-day innovation.
On iPads and iPhones, Liquid Glass fares better. Pop-over menus and dock animations feel fluid and well-integrated. But again, it’s a surface-level upgrade. Apple isn’t rethinking how users interact with their devices. It’s re-skinning the interaction layer in anticipation of future hardware.
Substance Found Elsewhere
As reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the more meaningful updates at WWDC were elsewhere. Apple revamped CarPlay with widgets, AirPlay video support, and a more intuitive call banner. It also improved multitasking on iPads and introduced eye-scrolling on Vision Pro. These updates actually change how people use their devices. Liquid Glass, by contrast, mostly changes how the devices look.
Apple also expanded its reliance on OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT for image generation and screenshot analysis in iOS 26. That move underscores how Apple is prioritizing partnerships over proprietary AI breakthroughs. Meanwhile, its own Siri overhaul was delayed until spring 2026 due to major technical issues. Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea was notably absent from the spotlight at WWDC, a decision that reflects internal doubts.
Conclusion
Liquid Glass may eventually become essential once Apple releases the hardware it was built for. Today, it’s mostly flash without function. A marketing-ready rebrand of familiar ideas. Apple knows how to make things look good. But in this case, it still hasn’t shown why they matter.