The Moving App Icons in IOS 26 Made Me Dizzy, so I Turned Them Off.
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If you’re anything like me, you might be seeing app icons moving on your iPhone’s home screen right now. It took me a few days to notice, but now, when I tilt the phone up, down, left, or right, the icons actually move in that direction, and the highlight around them, added by the new Liquid Glass effect, moves too.
Technically, this isn’t a new feature. Apple calls it the “parallax effect,” and if you’ve ever played an old 16-bit side-scroller, you’ve probably seen it before. It’s when the background moves at a different speed than the foreground. The parallax effect first appeared in iOS back in iOS 7, but users have been complaining about it not working since iOS 16. I certainly hadn’t noticed it for the past couple of years, but it seems that’s changed now.
During the second beta of iOS 26, users reported that the parallax effect had returned, and now that iOS 26 is available, it appears to still be working. Finally, it only took Apple three years to fix this bug.
What’s the problem? It turns out I actually don’t like the parallax effect on my app icons. I don’t represent everyone’s opinion, as many comments in the threads linked above welcome its return. But personally, it makes me dizzy, like I’m staring at a hypnotist’s wheel, whenever I dare to do anything with my phone other than hold it still.
My friends at Lifehacker are also divided, but at least the Gizmodo writers are on board. Luckily, if you’re like me, you can turn off the parallax effect, but it requires some compromise.
Turn on Reduce Motion
As with disabling Liquid Glass transparency , the most effective way to disable moving icons on your iPhone’s Home screen is to use the accessibility menu. To do this, go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and turn on Reduce Motion .
Bam! Now your icons will stay firmly on your home screen, no matter how you tilt your phone. Even the new backlighting, which made icons appear tilted in Dark Mode for some, will stay in place (this won’t solve the optical illusion issue, as that’s more to do with contrast than icon placement, but it’s a nice touch).
Unfortunately, this approach has a downside, as the Reduce Motion feature affects more than just parallax icons. It also reduces animation at the system level.
For example, with this setting enabled, app windows will no longer slowly collapse into the app switcher when you swipe up. Instead, you’ll instantly transition from full-screen mode to the app switcher. Your mileage may vary, but I found my phone to be less responsive.
Apps also don’t slowly expand from an icon when Reduce Motion is enabled, but simply instantly go full-screen when you tap them, albeit with a small expand animation that plays in the corners.
Use a solid or gradient background
If you prefer to keep the system animations but don’t want the parallax effect, you can customize the background. Since moving icons need to contrast with something to be truly noticeable, using a solid or gradient background should soften them without having to enable Reduce Motion.
To do this, long-press the lock screen, then tap the “+” button in the bottom-right corner. Scroll down to the “Color” section and select your favorite wallpaper. You can also create your own gradient and simply save it as a photo, then set it as wallpaper by tapping it in the Photos app and scrolling down to the “Use as Wallpaper” button.
The downside, of course, is that you can’t use a photo of your pet or family member as a background. It’s unacceptable, I tell you, but some of my colleagues are willing to make this sacrifice.