iOS Liquid Glass Reference
API reference for the Liquid Glass design system (iOS 26+): glass effects, containers, morphing transitions, and related system behaviors. This documents what the system provides — design direction is yours.
When to Use
- Implementing glass materials,
glassEffectmodifiers, orGlassEffectContainer - Navigation surfaces that use system glass (tabs, toolbars, sheets)
- Checking how glass adapts to accessibility settings
- Creating app icons with Icon Composer
Apple's Stated Design Principles
Apple describes Liquid Glass with three principles (reference, not a mandate):
One functional constraint worth knowing: glass is designed for the navigation/control layer. Applying it to content surfaces defeats its sampling model (see containers below).
Liquid Glass Core API
Basic Glass Effect
Glass Variants
Glass Modifiers
Custom Shapes
GlassEffectContainer & Morphing
Container Setup
Glass cannot sample other glass. Use containers for multiple glass elements:
Morphing Transitions
Navigation Patterns
Tab Bar (Floating)
Toolbar with Grouping
Sheets with Morphing
SF Symbols Effects
Haptics API
Accessibility Behaviors
Automatic Glass Adaptations
Glass automatically adapts to:
- Reduce Transparency: More frosting
- Increase Contrast: Stark borders
- Reduce Motion: Tones down animation
Manual Checks
System expectations: minimum 44x44pt touch targets, accessibility labels, Dynamic Type support.
Reference
For official Apple documentation links, WWDC session IDs, and API quick reference tables, see reference.md [blocked].


