Chris Armstrong is thinking out loud.

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Ok I’ve been trying to reserve judgement on Liquid Glass until it was officially released. But now it is, and… it’s not good, is it?

It just feels really visually unpolished (ironically).

The type and spacing are all over the place (I count 4 different alignment axis)… and why on earth does that back button need contrast against a white background?

I hate this so much

1 day in and I’ve turned on “reduce transparency” in accessibility settings. Some spacing issues remain but this is already so much better. Why would I want a URL bar to be drawing so much attention when I’m trying to browse a website?

The little purple dot in the “AI summary” icon was already too obnoxious for my liking, it’s putting Apple’s engagement metrics ahead of user needs.

6 replies on Mastodon

  1. Donovan Hutchinson@[email protected]

    I like it. The home screens with photos and the big time are lovely, the animated glass ui looks great and aside from forgetting to check the bottom of the screen for search bars I’ve had no issues 🤷

    September 19, 2025

  2. Toby@[email protected]

    not sure I can blame the UI elements, but was chatting to someone who upgraded and said their Face ID takes a solid 1 or 2 seconds longer to kick in, especially in the dark.

    Something like that getting slower would do my head in.

    September 19, 2025

  3. Chris Armstrong@armstrong

    the visual polish just doesn’t seem to be there, feels like they spent more time on flashy effects than on fundamentals. Getting Vista vibes

    September 19, 2025

  4. Joni Korpi@[email protected]

    I think it would’ve been good if they’d spent another year on it. Much like Stage Manager.

    September 19, 2025

  5. Paul Robert Lloyd 🐢@[email protected]

    Don’t you love your content being elevated Chris?

    September 20, 2025

  6. Donovan Hutchinson@[email protected]

    after a couple of months I’m definitely mixed on it. Love the lock screen and mostly it’s fine but the worst for me is the tab bar with the weird disappearing transparent jelly that appears, flubs around and disappears for no benefit. Not great 😅

    October 20, 2025