#116 Apple's Liquid Glass: New Era of UX Design
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Hello and welcome back to the future of your ex. I'm Patricia and today I want to talk about something that's got the whole design world buzzing: the new UI updates that Apple just unveiled at the WWDC 2025. Actually,

I am in Sardinia right now in Italy and recording this podcast episode from our camper van. We are standing here right next to the beach and we are doing a three-week trip through Sardinia as our very first family adventure with our two-month-old daughter. Many of you know that I recently became a mom. So if you hear some maybe some cricket in the background or some sound of waves, don't

Don't be surprised. This is actually because we're standing right next to the beach. And yeah, I hope it is as relaxing for you as it is for me. But even though I'm here to enjoy the sun, the world of design

is not standing still. There have been some really exciting updates at the Apple WWDC event, updates that will definitely have an impact on us as UX designers. And in this episode, we are going to unpack exactly what was announced, what it means and how it could change the way we design. So everything you as designer or you as a designer need to know.

First of all, what is the WWDC conference? For those who might not be familiar,

It is a short form of the Worldwide Developer Conference. It's Apple's biggest event of the year. It's where they announce major updates to iOS, to macOS and other platforms. And think of it as the moment when Apple sets the tone for maybe like the next year of design and technology.

And this year they went all in on a new design language they're calling Liquid Glass. And it's definitely getting a lot of people talking, especially on social media. And the first thing that you notice is it looks stunning. All the demos, all the visuals, it's shimmering and, you know, this translucent layers. It has a lot of depth and reflections.

that kind of look like they're straight out of a sci-fi movie. So I personally think it looks super beautiful. But also, you know, as designers we know it's never just about the visuals, but what's really changing here. And here's what I see: Apple is trying to move away from static, flat design and towards something much more dynamic, much more fluid and much more alive.

First of all, the interfaces that respond to what you're doing in real time and I think this is absolutely fascinating. This could mean that buttons that respond or shrink based on your actions.

menus that flow in as you need them or any kind of content that reorganizes itself dynamically. Think like having maybe a digital environment that senses and reacts to your presence. So, you know, from the UX perspective, this is absolutely fascinating because, you know, like most interfaces right now are really overwhelming the user with like presenting all the options and everything that's possible. This is definitely a big change.

The second big change is that elements appear when you need them and fade away when you don't. So think about how notifications might gently slide in and out instead of snapping on and off or how controls in a video app might fade away when you're just watching.

only reappearing when you move the mouse or tap the screen. So this is what we are currently having but there are definitely a lot of things that can change in the future that makes it much more human and much more interactive. And also the sense of depth and of motion that makes everything feel more like a conversation maybe and less like a static page.

It's really about giving interfaces this physical quality, this 3D quality, like they are floating in space rather than stuck to a glass panel. And the elements can layer on top of each other in the 3D space. So a little bit like, you know, you would use the Apple Vision Pro moving naturally or more natural with parallax effects or these very subtle animations that guide your attention. For example,

Imagine an app where the panels and cards can slide and overlap in a way that feels more like leafing through a deck of cards than scrolling on a webpage. Or think about how dynamic tooltips and models might emerge very smoothly and respond to your focus, rather than popping up abruptly and then blocking your view.

And this isn't just about making things look nice, it's about rethinking how digital interactions feel, making them much more organic and much more adaptive and also creating a sense of presence and of flow.

And last but not least, making the experience much more human and intuitive. And I think this is absolutely fascinating and something that we should keep in mind that this is the first step into a completely new direction of how we design, making things much more natural. Maybe a little bit of background to put things in context, I would say. For the last decade, we've been in what you call the flat design era.

Very clean, minimal interfaces. No gradients, no shadows, just very flat, crisp elements. Like what we saw with the big iOS 7 redesign back in 2013, so like 12 years ago. And that approach was all about clarity and simplicity and it served us super well, I think. But it also felt a tiny bit static.

So the liquid glass now brings kind of like a new era, a new direction. They are adding this liquidity so that interfaces feel like they are flowing, they are moving, you know, they're on the move. They're adding depth to make elements feel more layered and real. They're adding motion to make interfaces more dynamic and intuitive.

And I think this is a super interesting new direction. And besides all the criticism and a lot of people who are not so happy with all the updates, there are a lot of new opportunities and ways to design. So I already mentioned criticism. And I think this is always the case when companies present something super new and when there are some...

pretty much very obvious problems with this new design direction. So I would say let's talk a little bit about what is the criticism or what do a lot of designers absolutely hate about the update. Not everyone is thrilled about Apple's new direction. There's been a fair amount of criticism and concern, especially from designers and especially from accessibility advocates.

I really like the quote from Jacob Nielsen, he shared that on LinkedIn: "A UI that looks good in demos often turns out to have terrible usability in everyday use." And some of the main points of critique from many designers out there are first of all the clarity and the legibility.

When you add all these glassy layers and motion effects, there's a risk that text and icons become harder to read. And you can already see that. I think a lot of screenshots and videos they shared or Apple shared, especially for users with visual impairment or even for everyone in just bright environment, it gets much more difficult to read and to see things.

So a lot of designers are worrying, are we sacrificing usability for the sake of aesthetics? It's a big question. What are your thoughts? Feel free to share that underneath this podcast. I'm super happy to dive into it and hear about your perspective and about your thoughts. The second is the cognitive overload. It's dynamic and these fluid interfaces are great if they're done right.

But too much motion or too many of these subtle changes can be distracting and overwhelming. We all know as designers that users usually look where there's movement. This is the reason why there are so many animations. And critics are asking: Will this actually help users focus or will it make everything feel even busier or more confusing? I don't know. Let's see. And the third really big concern is about performance.

More complex animations and the depth effect can be heavy on the hardware. Especially for older devices or slower connections. This might mean that they are getting laggy, you have laggy interfaces or worse performance. And something that's always a concern when we push visual design forward.

So these concerns matter and are super important because they remind us of something important. Even as we're excited about this new dynamic fluid approach, we can lose sight of core UX principles of clarity, of speed, of accessibility. And it's about balancing or balancing all these things, making interfaces feel more aligned and engaging, but also never forgetting that they also need to be clear and usable for everyone.

So what is the challenge now for us as designers? What I think it's really exciting. I am honestly, I'm super positive and I'm super excited about these updates because I think they're the step in a new direction. And of course there's a lot of criticism and a lot of valid criticism that, you know, Apple still needs to fix somehow. Accessibility is very important.

But we shouldn't forget the bigger picture that shows things are changing. Our devices are changing, we're seeing smart glasses from all kinds of companies being announced and shared. And all these tools, devices are moving closer together also when it comes to the visual UI language. I think it's a chance to make interfaces that feel much more human and more alive.

can also mean to you know be a little bit more careful when it comes to visual um you know that get in the way of what really matters it's still about clarity it's still about usability and accessibility and we shouldn't forget about these things and i think this is super important um yeah to keep that in mind so what is the key takeaway now in short i would say

We are at the start of the new Erran interface. Now we're already slightly moved towards that new phase, but now we're really starting it. And one where things aren't just shown to users, but they are felt. They are 3D, you know, they are part of the world.

It's not about screens anymore. It's about experiences that adapt and respond. And as designers, this means we need to stay very curious. We need to keep experimenting and always remember that beautiful design still has to be usable design. But I would love to hear what you think. Please share your thoughts and ideas and concerns in the comments section of this podcast. I'm super curious.

So are you excited about this move towards more dynamic fluid interfaces? Or do you see challenges that you need to be really thoughtful about? Or you can always send me a message on LinkedIn, Patricia Reiners, or on Instagram, ux.patricia. I would love to keep this conversation going because I'm personally super interested in this new approach by Apple.

And I would say, thank you so much for listening to the future of your ex. Until next time, hear you in the future and stay curious, keep pushing boundaries and let's design for tomorrow.