Last year, we described to you how the new iOS 18 allowed you to tint the homescreen icons, enabling you to improve the look of your iPhone’s display. Now, with newest update of iOS 26, featuring Liquid Glass design, you can make iOS 26 clear icons. Let’s delve into this and help you make app icons clear on your iPhone.
What’s New with iOS 26?
On the Home screen of iPhones, search bar, dock, and app folders are translucent. The app icons feature a new layered glass look, which adds depth to them. However, new feature for iOS 26 clear icons, makes significant difference. This feature makes the app icons and widgets transparent. Hence, if you want the full glass effect, follow the steps discussed in this guide.
In iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, Apple introduces a third visual style, ‘Clear’, which removes color from app icons and widgets, applying reflective, translucent effects to make them transparent.
There are two types of this new Clear feature. The iOS 26 Clear icons appear semi-transparent, slightly darkening the wallpaper beneath them. Both icons and widgets resemble glass panels with layered text and images. Whereas, the dark mode makes iOS 26 Clear icons retain transparent but feature a darker background. This helps to make the income more stable while maintaining the layered, translucent aesthetic.
Apple also introduces an Auto option, which dynamically moves to the Appearance setting on iPhones.
How to Enable iOS 26 Clear Icons?
- Long-press an empty area of your iPhone’s Home Screen until it gets into jiggle mode.
- Click on the ‘Edit’ option in the top-left corner, then click on the ‘Customize’ option in the pop-up menu
- Select ‘Clear’ in the panel that comes at the bottom
- Select Light, Dark, or Auto mode. If a mode makes an inco or app label difficult to see, click on the sun icon in the upper-left of the customize panel to darken the wallpaper.
Accessibility Settings
If you face legibility issues, you can access two toggles in Settings – Accessibility and Display and Text Size, which affect the look of iOS 26 clear icons. You can try exploring the ‘Reduce Transparency’ and ‘Increase Contrast’ options. However, please note that turning on both settings will affect the transparency of the icons.
Liquid glass is also available for iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26. iPadOS 26 looks almost similar to iOS 26, and macOS 26 has a translucent menu bar and dock background. Also, Liquid Glass is used to buttons, sidebars, navigation bars, and Control Center.
What is Liquid Glass?
Apple describes it as translucent element that mirrors and refracts its surroundings. It also transforms to bring better emphasis on content, offering a new level of importance across controls, navigation, app icons, and widgets. Liquid glass is more than just making the interface parts clear. Apple defines its approach as integrating software and hardware in a way that appears intuitive and seamless.
It is designed to blend seamlessly into the background and highlight the content. Menus become contextual, and buttons go behind the curtains when not in use.
Dynamic and Adaptable Lock Screen
Translucency is the key characteristic of Liquid Glass, which looks like glass in the real world. In a way, it deals with the light and color of objects behind and near controls. However, it is not just a glassy look, but the liquid part of the glass refers to the way controls can merge and adapt. As shown by Apple, the glassy time numerals on the iPhone lock screen expanded to accommodate the image and shrunk as the image shifted to accommodate incoming notifications. The dock and widgets are rounded, and the glassy panels remain in the background.
Camera and Photos Apps
The Camera app has a new, simplified interface. One may raise concerns about the present camera app being too minimal, designed to make it quick to frame a shot and hit the large shutter button. However, when you get into the periphery, it becomes a unique blend of hidden controls and intuitive icons.
Presently, the camera app with iOS 26 updates features a new, more intuitive design, which takes minimalism to an even greater extent. The streamlined design includes two modes: video or camera. Swipe left or right to select additional modes, such as Pano or Cinematic. Swipe up for settings like aspect ratio and timers, and hit for more preferences.
With the updated Photos app, viewing the images you capture should be an exceptional experience. The change helps customers navigate the clutter of iOS 18. Instead of a large, difficult-to-find scrolling interface, Photos regains a liquid glass menu at the center of the display.
Revamped Phone App
The phone app remained the same in terms of its source than others. It has a sparse interface with big buttons as if you are holding an outdated headset or a pre-smartphone cellular phone. iOS 26 finally brings in updates that look not just with the new interface but in a unified layout, which benefits from the larger screen.
iOS 26 Availability
The end version of iOS 26 will be launched in September or October with the release of the new iPhone 17 models. Meanwhile, the developers can install the beta version.
It is available on the iPhone 11 and newer versions. This means that iOS 26 Clear icons would be available on the following models:
- iPhone 16 e
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE
Summary
The new feature iOS 26 Clear Icons is now available in the beta version. The official release for public usage is yet to be announced. This makes the use of liquid glass, which improves user experience with translucent icons. Be ready to experience these unique icons in iOS 26 updates.
Also Read:
iOS 26 is All Set to Roll Out This July? Update on Release
iOS 26 Beta 1 is here with Liquid Glass UI for Apple’s iPhone
