Has Apple Removed Liquid Glass From IOS 26 Developer Beta 3?
Last week, Apple released the third beta of iOS 26 to developers. This is the first major update to the beta since June , and it’s clear that we’re getting closer to its public release (even if Apple hasn’t yet confirmed its July release). The third beta contains fewer features and changes than the second, as Apple appears to be focused on improving the stability of the OS before releasing it to public testers.
But while there aren’t many new features or changes in this beta, there are a few interesting tidbits worth mentioning, as first discovered by MacRumors . Here’s what’s new in this latest beta:
Liquid glass looks much less impressive
While iOS 26 is full of new features and changes, perhaps the defining feature of this update cycle is Liquid Glass , Apple’s major design change that extends across all of its operating systems.
Liquid Glass imagines Apple’s user interface as glass: menus, buttons, app icons, and more are designed to be completely transparent, as if made of real glass. The “liquid” aspect comes through in motion, as glass elements can move and deform as you interact with them, changing their reflection accordingly.
While the design in the first beta certainly had its fans, it also had its fair share of critics, some of whom criticized the effect for its low readability and visibility. In turn, Apple toned down the transparency of Liquid Glass in the second beta , which made each individual element more noticeable, especially when there was a lot going on behind it, but went against the original concept Apple had pitched at WWDC .
In beta 3, it seems that Apple’s designers are still under pressure to make Liquid Glass more readable, to the point that it barely resembles its original design anymore. In some cases, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought there was no transparency at all: many elements have a “frosted” appearance, making them easy to read in all situations, but they certainly don’t feel like “glass” at first glance.
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Proving that you can’t please everyone, many are lamenting the loss of iOS 26’s boldest new feature . One user even created a hypothetical Liquid Glass slider for Apple , which I think is a great idea. If Apple can’t decide on the transparency of its Liquid Glass, let users decide for themselves.
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New wallpaper colors
The default iOS 26 wallpapers only came in a blue variant. But in beta 3, there are now four wallpaper options available. These include three different blue options — “Halo,” “Sky,” and “Shadow” — as well as a new “Dusk” option with more purple and pink hues.
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iPadOS 26
While it’s not technically iOS 26, the third beta of iPadOS 26 brings a cool feature from macOS: shaking the cursor will temporarily make it larger, just like on a Mac. This will make it much easier to find if you lose it.
Cards
If you use offline maps in Apple Maps , you’ll notice that Beta 3 gives you access to fog alerts. Additionally, MacRumors found that the update continues to expand the new “travel delays” feature.
Control Center has new colors
The blue and green colors of the Control Center connection toggles (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, and cellular) have become brighter. It’s a subtle change, but Apple is clearly interested in adjusting them.
Who should run the developer beta?
As mentioned, iOS 26 is still in the developer beta phase . While anyone can technically install the developer beta by registering their Apple account with the Apple Developer Program, I highly recommend you wait until at least the public beta is released. Developer betas are designed to test software on Apple’s latest OS, and because Apple gives them such early access, the OS is in its least stable phase, even after three iterations. Because of this, there are potential bugs and glitches that will negatively impact your overall iOS experience, and could even result in data loss if you haven’t backed up properly .
There are similar risks when launching a public beta, but at least in this case, Apple has taken the time to iron out the worst of them. If you’re interested in seeing the current version of Liquid Glass or trying out any of the new iOS 26 features , I’d recommend waiting for the public beta, which is expected to launch this month.