iPhone Liquid Glass gains a Tinted option in iOS 26.1

iOS 26.1 adds a Liquid Glass setting with two choices, Clear and Tinted; Tinted increases opacity and contrast for parts of the interface such as Notification Center and some search bars. The change is meant to give users more control over transparency without altering Light or Dark mode.

Apple added a new Liquid Glass setting in iOS 26.1 that lets users change how transparent certain interface elements appear. Liquid Glass was introduced in September with iOS 26 and marked the first major visual redesign on iPhone since iOS 7 in 2013. Before iOS 26.1, users could only affect Liquid Glass broadly with a dark tint on the home screen or the Reduce Transparency option. The new setting targets specific elements so some parts of the interface can look different without changing others. Key details: - iOS 26.1 presents a Liquid Glass menu with two options labeled Clear and Tinted. - Clear is the default and is described as more transparent, revealing content beneath; Apple says Tinted increases opacity and adds more contrast. - Tinted reduces the visual effect of Liquid Glass but does not remove it entirely; some elements can appear nearly opaque until colorful content scrolls beneath them. - The setting affects elements such as Notification Center and certain search bars while leaving the home screen largely unchanged. - These Liquid Glass options do not change the system Light or Dark appearance; either Clear or Tinted can be used in either mode. Summary: The setting provides a built-in way to reduce transparency for parts of the iPhone interface, which has been reported to help readability for some users. Undetermined at this time.