The launch of Apple’s newest working system, iOS 26, launched a new design language known as Liquid Glass. The interface makeover, one among Apple’s largest because the shift from skeuomorphic to flat design in 2013, provides a translucent, glass-like materials to Apple’s software program. That is used throughout iOS components, like buttons, sliders, media controls, switches, notifications, tab bars, app sidebars, and in system experiences just like the Management Heart, Dwelling Display screen, Lock Display screen, and extra.

The design itself is impressed by mixed-reality (AR/VR) units just like the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional and is doubtlessly gearing up for a future the place the OS does, actually, need to run on sensible glasses — like these Apple is reportedly constructing.

Within the meantime, the adjustments open the door to new methods to customise your most private gadget, your iPhone, with assist for issues like clear icons, glassy widgets, a glassy typeface for the Lock Display screen with 3D pictures, and extra.

Under is a group of ideas and tips that can provide help to begin customizing your iPhone to make the most of the brand new Liquid Glass design.

Liquid Glass icons

One of many greatest changes you can also make to your Dwelling Display screen is to vary your icons’ type. Ever because the introduction of iOS 14, which launched widgets, customers have been actively personalizing their Dwelling Display screen with customized icons. Sometimes, this was accomplished by making a shortcut to a given app utilizing Apple’s Shortcuts app, then importing the customized icon there earlier than including the shortcut to your Dwelling Display screen. A number of iOS theming apps have been additionally up to date to make the most of this performance, which made the tedious course of a bit simpler by permitting you to pick out which apps you needed to customise in bulk. These have been then put in for you through a downloadable profile.

For many who didn’t need to soar by way of as many hoops, iOS 18 added the means to vary all of your icons to a brand new colour scheme through a built-in device. Plus, you would set your icons to show barely bigger by eradicating the textual content label beneath.

With iOS 26, customization has been up to date once more with icons that may seem as gentle or darkish glass, tinted glass, and even as clear icons.

Whereas there have been some person complaints about tinted icons in iOS 18, the function has improved with the Liquid Glass design; the tint feels extra delicate now. You may as well use the eyedropper device to choose the precise colour out of your wallpaper to match your icons and modify sliders to additional tweak the colour or its opacity.

Should you’d somewhat simply skip this customization however nonetheless desire a glassy look, you’ll be able to merely set your icons to “Clear” as an alternative.

The right way to use it: Press and maintain in your Dwelling Display screen and faucet Customise to enter customization mode. Faucet the varied choices to pick out whether or not you desire a gentle, darkish, or routinely adjusting background, giant or small icons, and whether or not you need your icons to look as darkish, clear, tinted, or with their default colours. Faucet in your Dwelling Display screen once more when your customizations are full.

Matched icons

Should you go caseless or use a transparent cellphone case, you would possibly like the brand new choice to match your iPhone’s icons to your gadget or case. That is obtainable by way of the “matched icons” function in iOS 26.

The working system is aware of your iPhone’s SKU, which accommodates data that informs it of your mannequin and colour. However if you wish to match your case, you must use the official Apple MagSafe instances.

The right way to use it: To match your icons to your cellphone, press and maintain in your iPhone Dwelling Display screen to enter jiggle mode, faucet Edit > Customise > Tinted. Beneath the colour and opacity sliders, faucet the button that appears like just a little iPhone on the far left. To match the case as an alternative, press the following button to the proper.

Dwelling Display screen wallpaper and format

Your Lock Display screen wallpaper and your Dwelling Display screen wallpaper don’t need to match, providing you with all kinds of choices for Dwelling Display screen customizations. However earlier than you go to set your canine or cat as your background once more, take a second to browse the net for some glassier inspirations.

Pinterest stays a very good useful resource totally free concepts, the place you’ll be able to search for wallpapers with search phrases like “Liquid Glass wallpaper” or “iOS 26 wallpaper.”

An alternative choice is to make use of third-party iOS theming apps. There are tons of those on the App Retailer, however be warned that these apps are virtually at all times subscription-based or overloaded with advertisements, if there’s a free model. Should you’re new to this world, some that I commonly return to (and even pay for at instances) embrace Brass, Shade Themes, ScreenKit, Themify, Wallaroo, and Widgetsmith.

Dwelling Display screen customization can also be a very good time to assist a favourite artist. Many artists supply wallpaper packs on the market by way of their Patreon or promote their downloads on their social media. Trying to find “iOS wallpaper” and associated phrases on websites like X and Threads might level you to some concepts. Equally, customers typically exhibit their designs on visible mediums like Instagram and TikTok. (I’m at the moment obsessive about these brilliant, colourful, and watery flower prints!)

Bear in mind additionally that iOS 18 launched a strategy to put your icons and widgets anyplace you need on the Dwelling Display screen, permitting you to depart clean areas in between them. This may be helpful, particularly in the event you don’t need to obscure some a part of your wallpaper. Nonetheless, the icons will nonetheless be locked to an invisible grid system to maintain the display screen wanting orderly.

The right way to use it: To vary your wallpaper, press and maintain in your Dwelling Display screen till the icons jiggle, then faucet Edit > Edit Wallpaper from the menu that seems. You may as well change your wallpaper from its personal part throughout the settings app. To maneuver icons, press and maintain in your Dwelling Display screen till they wiggle, then drag and drop them the place you need them to sit down.

Whereas widgets aren’t new, iOS 26 provides them a glassy appear and feel, which can encourage you to present your Dwelling Display screen a makeover.

As an alternative of utilizing your apps’ built-in widgets, now glassified, it’s also possible to flip to third-party sources to seek out widgets. Brass, Shade Themes, ScreenKit, Themify, Widgetsmith, and Launcher are amongst these on my iPhone.

I additionally just like the widget apps from the developer MD Studio — particularly the one which places just a little vinyl document participant in your Dwelling Display screen. For a extra trendy look, Not Boring additionally makes its personal alternate options to the iPhone’s default apps, like these for the digital camera, calculator, climate, timer, and extra, which include their very own widgets. Music app Airbuds has a enjoyable widget as properly.

A extra lately standard decide is Dynamic-Lyrics, which places dwell lyrics in your Lock Display screen, Dynamic Island, or Dwelling Display screen.

You may as well select to create and customise widgets of your individual with Widgy. The app is among the greater sources on the market for widget customization, moreover the opposite theming apps linked above. With Widgy, anybody, even these with out design expertise, can create their very own customized widget by including components, altering the colours and results, connecting a knowledge supply, and extra.

You may as well flick through widgets others have made for inspiration after which import them to your personal use.

Some designers additionally promote Widgy widget collections from their very own web sites. This may get just a little trickier due to the additional steps concerned, however the finish end result may be definitely worth the effort. For instance, I simply purchased this “glass shiny” Widgy widget assortment so as to add some distinctive customized widgets to my Dwelling Display screen. However until you’re conversant in how theming apps work, it might be a bit intimidating to get began.

The right way to use: First, you’ll need to obtain the bought widget zip file to the Apple Information folder in your iPhone or your iCloud Drive. (This may be simpler to do in the event you make the acquisition out of your iPhone.) Faucet to unzip the app if it’s compressed.

Open the Widgy app you’ve already put in from the App Retailer and go to the primary tab, “Create.” Right here you’ll faucet “Import,” then the choice to “import .widgy File from Information.” (Until you saved the file within the Widgy folder that’s created in your cellphone, you’ll need to browse to wherever you initially downloaded the recordsdata.) After you discover the file or folder you need to import, faucet on it to tug it into Widgy.

From Widgy’s “Handle” tab, you’ll faucet on the obtainable widgets included along with your obtain. To have it match your wallpaper, faucet “Arrange Transparency” and add screenshots of your wallpaper in gentle and darkish mode snapped from a clean web page of the Dwelling Display screen itself. Every widget can then be additional personalized on this part. While you faucet on a person widget to customise it, you’ll additionally need to arrange the widget place (which means the place on the Dwelling Display screen it sits).

After the widget is saved, you add it to your Dwelling Display screen utilizing the traditional course of: faucet and maintain the Dwelling Display screen to enter jiggle mode, faucet Edit > Add Widget > Widgy, after which scroll by way of the choices and decide the widget you created.

Liquid Glass Lock Display screen

On the iPhone’s Lock Display screen, Liquid Glass will now present the time in a glassy, San Francisco typeface that can dynamically adapt its weight, width, and peak relying on the picture on the display screen and your notifications to maintain your photograph’s topic in view.

Nonetheless, the very best half stands out as the Lock Display screen’s new Spatial Scenes, which give your iPhone’s wallpaper a 3D impact. This function leverages pc imaginative and prescient methods operating on a neural engine to show your 2D pictures right into a 3D picture. You are able to do this on older footage or these taken on different cameras, too — you don’t want to purchase the brand new iPhone 17 to make the most of the addition.

The right way to use it: Press and maintain on the Lock Display screen, then faucet Customise. Browse your pictures till you discover a picture you want to your wallpaper. After including it, be sure to faucet on the brand new Spatial Scene button to allow the 3D impact. That is on the proper facet of the Lock Display screen’s customization web page. The button to the proper of it additionally allows you to additional configure your Lock Display screen’s wallpaper settings, like having it shuffle by way of completely different pictures on a schedule or with a faucet.