When Apple released iOS 26.1 in November, one of the biggest changes he made to your iPhone was a way to adjust certain elements of Liquid Glass on your device. This new setting could help resolve readability issues noted by some people on Reddit, so if you’re having trouble reading things on your device, you should download iOS 26.1 and try this setting.
Apple presented Liquid glass in September alongside iOS26. This is the first major visual change on iPhone since iOS 7 in 2013. Before iOS 26.1, there were only a few ways to change Liquid Glass elements on your iPhone. You can add a dark tint to home screen elements or adjust the Reduce transparency setting to change the appearance of Liquid Glass on your device. The new setting lets you change specific elements of your iPhone, such as your Notification Center and some search bars, without affecting other elements, like your Home screen.
Here’s where to find the new setting if you’re using iOS 26.1 or later, along with my recommended configuration.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased technical content and lab reviews. Add CNET as your preferred Google source.
Where to find clear and tinted liquid glass options
1. Press Settings.
2. Press Display and brightness.
3. Press Liquid glass.
In the Liquid Glass menu, you will see two options: Clear and Tinted. Clear is the default setting and Tinted makes Liquid Glass elements less transparent.
“Clear is more transparent, revealing the content underneath,” Apple writes for the setting. “Tinting increases opacity and adds more contrast.”
Tinté doesn’t completely eliminate Liquid Glass elements in menus, but it does minimize the design effects. Once tinted is enabled, some items and menus appear almost opaque, like the search bar in Messages, until you scroll through something colored or bold.
Dark mode with Tinted Liquid Glass (far right) is my personal preference.
Apple/Screenshot by CNETThese Liquid Glass settings also won’t change your iPhone’s light or dark display settings. You can enable Tinted and be in Light mode or enable Clear in Dark mode. But dark mode with the Tint setting looks clean to me and is my personal preference.
For more iOS news, here’s what you need to know iOS 26.2 and what was included in iOS 26.1. You can also view our iOS 26 Cheat Sheet for other tips and tricks.
Watch this: The best technology we saw at CES 2026
