It’s been a busy week in the Apple world, between reviews of new iPhones and the release of iOS 26.
One of the highlights of new iOS season every year is Federico Viticci’s in-depth review at MacStories. Given the vast nature of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 this year, I was even more excited than usual to read his review.
Here’s Federico on Liquid Glass:
In the past three months, I’ve realized that Liquid Glass – beyond simply looking gorgeous on modern Apple hardware – is more than meets the eye. Sure, Liquid Glass takes to its logical conclusion an embrace of translucency and blur that started well over a decade ago with iOS 8 and iOS 9, and sure, it builds upon Apple’s recent penchant for fluid animations that started with the iPhone X and later, including the Dynamic Island. But beyond all that – beyond the spectacle of 120 Hz transitions and Gaussian blur and real-time lensing – I think Liquid Glass hints at a future where interfaces will be discrete, contextual to what you’re doing, and capable of naturally blending in with your physical environment.
I especially resonated with this part of Federico’s conclusion:
I think it’s a sign of maturity in Apple’s software team that they can embrace and celebrate the past while still daring to take a leap toward new ideas. Liquid Glass is such a leap, and while it’s not perfectly polished and will require plenty of refinements over time, I’d rather see Apple take big, imperfect swings than stand still and relish their status quo. The path to irrelevance is paved with many such companies.
“I’d rather see Apple take big, imperfect swings than stand still and relish their status quo” is an excellent way to describe this year’s software updates. It’s also an excellent way to view Apple and the broader tech industry in general. For Apple, taking risks has always been what pushes its products forward, even when the first version isn’t perfect.
You can read Federico’s full review on MacStories, plus join the Club MacStories membership program to unlock a whole bunch of extras.