WWDC 2025 recap: Apple's Liquid Glass redesign draws mixed reactions from designers and tech commentators
Jun 10, 2025
Key Points
- Apple's liquid glass redesign sparked initial backlash over readability, but the viral worst-case rendering was artificially brightened and doesn't represent the actual developer beta.
- Apple unified versioning across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS to version 26, signaling a strategic pivot toward platform-wide design consistency as core competitive advantage.
- Snap announced AR glasses called Specs launching in 2026, with both Snap and Meta doubling down on next-generation platforms as Apple refines current-generation interfaces.
Summary
Apple's liquid glass redesign spans iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS with a unified design language. Designers and tech commentators expressed skepticism immediately after WWDC, but sentiment shifted as developers examined the actual beta instead of circulated viral images. The initial backlash focused on readability, with a widely shared comparison to the Oppenheimer atomic bomb explosion becoming the symbolic reference point for perceived excess. That image appears to have been artificially brightened and does not represent the shipped beta. Apple released the redesign in developer beta to give developers time to adapt their apps before general release, allowing companies like Airbnb and Ramp to test how their interfaces mesh with the new system UI.
Ben Thompson's Stratechery analysis framed liquid glass as Apple's return to core competency through unified cross-platform design. John Gruber and other observers have warmed to the aesthetic since the beta dropped. The redesign includes practical refinements: iOS 26 notifications now use left alignment instead of center alignment, and Apple unified versioning across all operating systems. The jump from iOS 18 to iOS 26 reflects broader numerical consolidation across Apple's OS portfolio.
Snap announced new AR glasses called Specs in 2026 during the same news cycle, dropping the spectacles branding. Snap's market cap sits at approximately $14 billion, matching what Meta just paid for a 50% stake in Scale AI. Both companies remain committed to the next platform shift even as Apple refines its approach to current-generation interfaces.