Apple iOS 26 Developer Beta 3 hands-on: A Liquid Glass masterclass of "much less is extra"

It has been a month since Apple’s new Liquid Glass interface design broke cowl at WWDC and promptly landed on the corporate’s units within the respective Developer Beta releases, however in the interim, it has been something however static.

Apple has been introducing numerous modifications with every consecutive beta (which is totally regular), and the newest Developer Beta 3 is kind of completely different from what we noticed on the primary one.

I’ve to confess I wasn’t a fan of Liquid Glass at first, and getting used to it’s nonetheless an ongoing course of for me. It isn’t due to the aesthetics themselves however as a result of execution of the redesign, which felt too abrupt and intensive. As somebody who has grown roots into the older iOS design language, this transformation was too sudden and too harsh.

Fortunately, Developer Beta 3 addressed this paradigm shift within the new new type of iOS.

Liquid Glass takes a step again, and that is good

With Developer Beta 3, Liquid Glass has undergone probably the most important spherical of modifications thus far.

I’ve truly been giving it a spin for the previous few days, and on this time, it has turn into clear that Apple has thankfully addressed lots of the preliminary points with the Liquid Glass design language. I applaud the firming down of the brand new transparency impact in most apps, which not solely improves the synergy with the older design language but in addition fixes some accessibility points from the prior betas.

A a lot subtler Liquid Glass impact goes a good distance in DB3, giving us a much less busy background that simply feels proper

The principle change is the vastly elevated opacity of most inventory apps’ navigation bars, in addition to a slight firming down of the see-through transparency impact with app and folder icons. The distinction is refined however positively improves the general type and legibility of most interface components. In truth, it makes me like Liquid Glass a bit extra and makes the transition in direction of the brand new design language simpler to abdomen.

To me, the newer “frosted glass” impact feels far more iOS-like than the translucent glass within the first two betas, which felt greasy and intrusive.

That is a serious change for the higher, for my part. I wasn’t a fan of the translucent navigation bars within the inventory apps, which felt gaudy and truly worsened the person expertise for me. This new stained glass look of kinds is a lot better from a usability standpoint and subjectively appears to be like higher.

Music has been one of many many inventory apps that has been blessed with an opaque navigation bar on the backside

Music is the app the place this transformation is greatest seen. Beforehand, we had a translucent glass impact on the backside navigation bar that was too excessive and was relatively distracting, not mixing effectively with the remainder of the app’s aesthetics. With DB3, this impact has been toned down lots, and in consequence, the important navigation bar down there’s extra opaque, which does wonders for the app.

Safari has additionally scored some modifications when it comes to look and menu structure

Nevertheless, relying on who you ask, DB3 seems to be criticized as a serious setback in iOS’s quest for a brand new id, as that is what most new-fangled followers of Liquid Glass appear to be voicing on-line. In my view, they’re all improper; it was apparent from day one which Liquid Glass was in dire want of a subduing.

It isn’t all roses, although. I’m but to get used to the brand new Management Heart, which feels a bit too indifferent from the remainder of the interface.

Optimization wants extra work

One in all my New 12 months’s resolutions was to change again to Android in 2025, which I efficiently did, however my earlier each day driver (an iPhone 13 Professional Max) nonetheless had a devoted spot on my desk at house as a backup system and a beta-testing machine. It is nonetheless a reasonably succesful cellphone, however it’s positively beginning to present indicators of ageing; it is not at all quick compared with newer iPhones, the battery life is a shadow of its former self (because of the 86% battery well being), and the design is already too retro, particularly in case you put it subsequent to a more recent titanium flagship.

That stated, not one of the iOS 26 Developer Betas have run notably effectively on the iPhone 13 Professional Max. The primary one was the worst offender, because it practically rendered the cellphone unusable. The second beta was barely higher when it comes to efficiency, and fortunately, the newest Developer Beta 3 looks like the most effective one when it comes to efficiency thus far. There’s nonetheless lots to be completed when it comes to optimization right here, with the iPhone 13 Professional Max dropping frames left and proper and extra vulnerable to overheating than common.

I attempted iOS 26 DB3 on an iPhone 16 Plus, and the expertise is a lot better, as one would think about. Nonetheless, I do hope Apple improves the general optimization of the upcoming replace, because it would not chime too effectively with the tens of millions of customers of older iPhones.

Standby battery life is pretty okay for a beta. I haven’t got battery life figures of my particular utilization pre-beta, however I’ve the sensation I get between one and two hours of much less screen-on time proper now, which is what I would count on from a software program in such a reasonably early stage of improvement. I hope it will get mounted to iOS 18 ranges of battery life, although.

The improved Visible Intelligence might be my favourite new iOS 26 function

As somebody who loves Google’s Circle to Search, I was envious of Android customers who had such a easy but highly effective search instrument proper at their fingertips. Due to iOS 26, Visible Intelligence has been a blessing, fulfilling the identical basic functions with just some additional faucets and button presses concerned.

How does it work? Easy, simply take a screenshot of your display, and also you’re offered with a few very helpful choices on the backside of the web page. You get Ask, which uploads the screenshot straight into ChatGPT and asks it for context. There’s additionally Picture Search, which opens Google and reveals related photos. You can too spotlight the a part of the display that is related, however you’ll be able to simply use the total screenshot both means.

Visible Intelligence is Apple’s reply to Circle to Search

All in all, it is a genius means of leveraging present iOS options and boosting their usefulness, although the method of looking out right here is clunkier than Android’s Circle to Search.

Points and bugs

Of those, we’ve got plenty of tiny and not-so-tiny gremlins lurking round all over the place across the interface. Usually, I feel earlier iOS betas have been buggier, as many of the points inside iOS 26 are largely associated to the visuals, whereas earlier iOS betas had extra critical points.

Scroll by means of your digital camera roll, open a video, and in case you flick it away with out urgent pause, it would proceed taking part in within the background whilst you browse the remainder of your photographs, requiring you to return to the video in query, open it, and intentionally press the pause button to cease it.

Furthermore, in case you open one other video, and the audio from the primary one will play alongside the opposite one. Lo and behold, I discovered you’ll be able to truly play as much as 4 audio streams out of your movies concurrently for the final word cacophony earlier than the Pictures app would seemingly crash and not play movies in any respect.

Attempt to cycle between your saved wallpaper pairs too quick, and the Settings app will throw a tantrum and crash. The identical applies to fast scrolling within the mail app: do it too quick and the app will stop to register your inputs.

I’ve reported all of those within the Suggestions app, which ought to positively be thought-about by anybody who runs the beta and encounters a bug or a problem that should not hit the official launch this fall.

Conclusion

iOS 26 is beginning to develop on me

To me, iOS 26 Developer Beta 3 is a step in the appropriate path in nearly all essential points.

First, it addresses a few of my ire with the sooner iterations of Liquid Glass and makes the brand new design language palpable. Optimization nonetheless has an extended technique to go right here, as each efficiency and battery life are removed from their pre-iOS 26 ranges. There are small bugs and tiny points current, as befits beta software program,

Then once more, I nonetheless assume you shouldn’t set up iOS 26 in your cellphone as a each day driver even you probably have a full iTunes backup. It is known as a “Developer Beta” for a cause. When you actually need to take a look at Liquid Glass in individual, please set up iOS 26 on one other system and never your principal one.

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