The Liquid Glass design theme on iOS 26 got off to a controversial start ahead of the operating system’s global release. Hailed as one of the biggest design overhauls to iOS since iOS 7, the Liquid Glass theme brought back the concept of glass-based translucent UI elements from the days of Windows Vista and macOS X’s Aqua theme. However, the implementation of the UI seems not to gel well with the public, especially over factors like legibility and UI cleanliness.
On the sidelines, Jon Yongfook — a design lead who falsely claimed to be an Apple employee in a public post on X — said that he and his team were fired by Apple. “I was fired by Apple today. Me and my design team have spent the last 18 months tirelessly testing different levels of Gaussian blur on backgrounds when foreground elements are in focus.”
“If you are looking for experts in the blur, glass liquid, grass or fur UI space, lmk,” he cheekily added.
Some of my last projects before I was fired from Apple. Behold the majestic natural beauty of iOS27 Orangutan, the rustic charm of iOS28 Rattan, the nostalgia of iOS29Candy, and the clean fresh vibe of iOS30Sashimi pic.twitter.com/RuI06oOUuA
— Jon Yongfook (@yongfook) June 10, 2025
After his post, which was published on June 10, attracted over 5 million views he issued a clarification that it was a satirical comment.
“Bless all of you who recognized this as satire. I’ve been enjoying the puns. I’ve been an Apple user for 20+ years, this is the worst UI I’ve seen, I hope they tweak it. To be perfectly transparent, this is overwhelming my notifications now, so I’m putting the thread on mute.”
The Liquid Glass design theme has generated polarised opinions – while some like the new design direction, others disapprove of its messy implementation.
We are currently recruiting for the following roles on the design team:
— Jon Yongfook (@yongfook) June 10, 2025
Lead Text Obfuscater
Background Blur Technician
Glass and Fur Consultant
iOS 26 is coming to all users in Fall 2025 alongside the next generation iPhone 17 series.
