It’s not just you; You don’t see things. Your vision has not worsened overnight and your iPhone screen does not need cleaning. The misty application icons were only one of the liquid glass problems that Apple had to solve before the launch of iOS 26. They seem blurred, or a little more vague than they did in iOS 18, because Apple made them look at this way. It is the new liquid glass design language that Apple has introduced this year on its products.
IOS 26, iPados 26, MacOS 26 and Watchos 26 have all received the same glassy look that Visionos introduced in 2024. The icons of the application and the menus are all transparent by design. Light crosses the different layers, refracting and reacting to the way you move the device. This is why some application icons seem blurred. They could have several elements, all of virtual glass, and all manipulate the light according to the principles of Apple liquid glass. The more glass layers, the more the appearance of an icon. The Photos Application icon (above) shows an example of overlapping glass elements that create a blur.
If you did not have the chance to try the different liquid glass versions that Apple tested during the beta iOS 26 phase, the iOS 26 update could initially shock you. This is one of the most discussed features that you will have to discover in iOS 26 once you update. It will take a while to get used to the new experience, including blurred icons. The good news is that the final iOS 26 version published by Apple was much better than the first version, the application icons included. In addition, there is a way to reduce the transparency of liquid glass to improve the appearance of iOS 26 icons.
How to repair blur icons in iOS 26 and iPados 26
IPhone and iPad users who have updated iOS 26 and iPados 26 can use a single parameter that can improve the appearance of liquid glass on their devices. Apple does not allow you to completely turn off the transparency effect of the glass and return to a more similar design to iOS 18. Instead, you get a reduction transparency menu that allows you to modify the transparency effect. Activate it and liquid glass becomes more like frosted glass. Follow these steps to find the new menu:
- Access the Settings application
- Press accessibility
- Press the display and size of the text
- Press transparency reduction to activate it
This procedure may be sufficient to make transparency of the liquid glass more tolerable and improve the icons of the application. The same menu offers some other accessibility options that you could consider, especially if you have readability problems in the liquid glass. You can switch to the increase in increase, the text in bold and the button shape options (see screenshot above). You can mix and match these features until you find the perfect cut.
Finally, iOS 26 and iPados 26 introduce a new way of personalizing the design of the application icon and applying this personalization uniformly. You can transform all transparent applications or give them the same shade. This eliminates the different colors inside an application icon and reduces blur. Here is how to use the functionality on the iPhone and iPad:
- Home screen
- Press anywhere on the wallpaper until the application icons start to shake
- Press the Modify button in the upper left corner
- Press customize
- Press Claire or Tinted to define the appearance of the application icon.
