Apple gave iOS a massive visual overhaul with iOS 26, introducing the new Liquid Glass design language. The redesign brought translucent, glass-like elements that reflect and blur background content across system apps, controls, and navigation bars, giving the iPhone interface a completely new look. However, this new design didn’t go down well with all users.
Apple has since been gradually expanding customization options to help users tweak the look to their preference. With iOS 26.1, the company introduced a “Tinted” option that increases opacity across interface elements, and iOS 16.2 later added a slider that lets users adjust the Liquid Glass effect for the Lock Screen clock, making it appear clearer or more frosted.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple may take that idea further in iOS 27 by introducing a system-wide slider that controls the intensity of the Liquid Glass effect across the entire operating system. Apple reportedly explored adding a system-wide control during the development of iOS 26, but ran into engineering challenges when trying to apply the setting consistently across the entire interface. Because of the technical hurdles, the company limited the slider to the Lock Screen clock.
Is a system-wide Liquid Glass slider confirmed for iOS 27?
The company is now said to be revisiting the idea for iOS 27, though the feature remains under development and may not necessarily make it into the final release. Gurman notes that Apple is “trying again now for iOS 27,” but whether the system-wide slider ultimately ships is still to be determined.
Even if it does arrive, the broader Liquid Glass design is expected to remain largely unchanged in iOS 27, with Apple focusing on incremental improvements rather than another major visual overhaul. Apple is expected to reveal more details about the update at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference before rolling it out to compatible iPhones later in the year.
