iOS 26’s Liquid Glass effect frustrates dark mode users, making icons cartoonish and text harder to read without adjustments.

macOS 26 (“Tahoe”) swaps the old full-screen Launchpad for a new Apps panel tied more closely to Spotlight. On paper it’s cleaner and less intrusive; in practice, heavy Launchpad users say it’s a downgrade that slows them down. For broader context on why Tahoe’s UI is controversial, see our roundup: macOS 26 critics: cluttered & inconsistent.

Apple’s macOS 26 “Tahoe” arrives with Liquid Glass, a system-wide redesign that makes the menu bar fully transparent, rounds window corners, and introduces floating sidebars and toolbars across core apps. It’s a bold swing meant to unify Apple’s platforms — but the rollout is exposing design seams that heavy Mac users can’t unsee.

Xiaomi is skipping straight to the 17 series (17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max) to go head-to-head with Apple’s new iPhones in China, pulling its launch forward and touting “the most significant upgrade” to its numbered line. Company leaders are also claiming first dibs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for the range.

The thread is split. Fans see a thoughtful refresh that nods to classic iOS and matches the new Liquid Glass look; critics say the icons feel blurry, low-contrast, and less legible—especially Camera and Clock. A lot of people also say they’ll get used to it in a month.

Based on Apple’s pattern for the first “.1” after a major iOS release, expect late October 2025 for iOS 26.1. Historically, Apple ships .1 roughly 5–6 weeks after the .0 build. That lines up with a late-October window following iOS 26’s mid-September release.