Adopting Liquid Glass in iOS 26

Modern platform Mid-level Swift 6.2+ iOS 26+ Reviewed By Alok Singh

Pick the fix

A custom floating action bar should match iOS 26. Best approach?

Options
Hint 1 of 1

Use the system material on controls.

Choose an answer, then open Show answer below to check it.

Show answer

Answer: A Apply .glassEffect() to the bar's controls inside a GlassEffectContainer, gated with #available

Correct. It uses the system material and still supports older versions.

Why not the others?
  • B Draw a blurred PNG background. It won't refract or adapt like the system material.
  • C Apply glass to every list row. Glass belongs to controls, not content.
  • D Keep an opaque custom background. It looks out of place next to system bars.

30-second answer

Liquid Glass is the iOS 26 design material for controls and navigation: translucent, refractive and floating above content. Standard components such as tab bars, toolbars, navigation bars and sheets adopt it automatically when you build with the iOS 26 SDK. For custom controls, use .glassEffect() in SwiftUI (grouped in a GlassEffectContainer) or UIGlassEffect in UIKit, keep glass on the controls layer rather than the content, and remove custom bar backgrounds that fight it.

Practise saying it · 30 s. No recording, just a timer

Explain Liquid Glass adoption.

Say your answer out loud, then check which of these points you covered:

  • System components adopt automatically
  • glassEffect for custom controls
  • Controls, not content
  • Accessibility

Deep dive

.buttonStyle(.glass) and .glassProminent style buttons.

Test with Reduce Transparency and Increase Contrast.

Check legibility over busy content.

Gate new APIs with if #available(iOS 26, *) when supporting older versions.

Common mistakes

  • Putting glass on content like list rows.
  • Keeping old opaque custom bar backgrounds.

Senior take & follow-ups

Seniors adopt it through system components first and keep custom glass minimal.

Follow-up questions

Think of your answer first, then open the hint.

  1. What adopts it automatically?

    Show hint

    Standard bars, tab bars, toolbars and sheets.

  2. What about accessibility settings?

    Show hint

    The material adapts, but test legibility.

Related questions

Suggest a fix if something here is wrong or out of date.