iOS 26 beta: Section headers no longer show translucent background when pinned with .listStyle(.plain)

Question

lujanlopezalejandro OP

Created Jul ’25

Replies 2

Boosts 1

Participants 2

Hi everyone,

I've noticed a significant change in the visual behavior of List section headers between iOS 18 and iOS 26 beta that I'd like to clarify.

Current Behavior:

iOS 18 and earlier: Section headers with .listStyle(.plain) display with a translucent material background (regular material with blur effect) when pinned to the top during scrolling
iOS 26 beta: Section headers with .listStyle(.plain) appear with a transparent/clear background even when pinned to the top

Sample Code:

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        NavigationStack {
            List(1 ..< 5) { headerIndex in
                Section {
                    ForEach(1...5, id: \.self) { rowIndex in
                        HStack {
                            Text("Row \(rowIndex)")
                                .frame(height: 40)
                                .padding(.horizontal)
                                .background(Color.blue)
                            Spacer()
                            Image(systemName: "chevron.right")
                                .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
                                .font(.title3)
                        }
                    }
                } header: {
                    Text("Header \(headerIndex)")
										.frame(height: 44)
                }
                .listRowSeparator(.hidden)
            }
            .listStyle(.plain)
						.clipped()
        }
    }
}

Questions:

Is this change in header background behavior for .plain list style intentional in iOS 26?
If so, what's the recommended way to maintain the previous material background appearance when headers are pinned?
Should this be filed as feedback if it's unintended behavior?

Testing Environment:

Xcode 26.0 beta 3 (17A5276g)
iOS 26 beta (23A5287g) vs iOS 18.5
Tested on simulator

The translucent header background when pinned was quite useful for maintaining readability over scrolling content, so I'm hoping to understand if this is the new expected behavior or if there's a way to preserve the previous appearance.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

iOS 18.5 iOS18.5-screenshot.png

iOS 26 Beta

Boost

Answer 1

jonathanthornton OP

Jul ’25

We're running into this too. Unfortunately, .listStyle(.plain) seems to have fallen out of favor at Apple and it took me a while to remember where a plain list might still be in use. I found one, and they've clearly found some workaround:

There's a subtle blur and background behind the header view content that you can see is not present on the trailing side ("test 2" is unobscured). I'm not sure how this is being accomplished, whether there's something in private API, or something new in iOS 26 that makes this easy, or whether it's some one-off implementation.

But in iOS 26 beta 4, this is not applied automatically behind pinned view content when, in my opinion, it should be. (This should also probably apply to any pinned views in ScrollViews.) With the ability to opt out, of course.

2

Answer 2

jonathanthornton OP

Aug ’25

This seems to be fixed in beta 5; the translucent blur effect is now present behind section header views by default with no action needed.

0