Apple is set to make tweaks to the controversial new look of its operating system – but not do away with it entirely, according to new reports.
In September, along with its new iPhone 17 models, Apple introduced “Liquid Glass”, a new look for all of the software that runs on Apple’s devices.
Apple said that it was built to reflect the idea that its devices are a single piece of glass, and to help people focus on the content that they watch on them. But critics voiced loud and intense dislike of the change, arguing that it made using the phone more difficult and obscured important information.
Since then, Apple has made a number of small tweaks to the design, including allowing users to switch off some of the more controversial transparency effects. It has also lost the designer, Alan Dye, who led the change and publicly launched it.
That has led to some speculation that the company could be planning either to ditch the update entirely or make significant tweaks to how it looks.
Now a new report suggests that Apple will make changes to the look of the iPhone. But will focus on the “shadows and transparency quirks” of the new look, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record of reporting Apple changes before they become public.
The changes will particularly focus on the implementation of the new look on MacOS, he reported. Those received particular criticism because some of those quirks were particularly visible on the Mac’s bigger displays.
Some of that criticism might be because Apple had designed the new look with a view to using it on the OLED screens that are on the iPhone and other Apple devices, he suggested. MacBooks do not yet have that display technology – but are expected to launch with it soon.
Outside of the new look, Apple is working on performance and battery improvements for the next versions of its software, he reported. It is also expected to bring an updated version of Siri – which Apple has been promising to improve with new AI technology for years, but is yet to arrive.
Apple is expected to reveal all of the new changes at its Worldwide Developers Conference, its annual software event, which is scheduled for 8 June.