.glassEffect() renders dark on device but works on simulator - TestFlight doesn't fix it

Question

Created 1d

Replies 3

Boosts 0

Participants 2

iOS 26 SwiftUI .glassEffect() renders dark/gray on physical device - TestFlight doesn't fix it .glassEffect() renders as dark/muddy gray on my physical iPhone instead of the light frosted glass like Apple Music's tab bar. What I've confirmed:

Same code works perfectly on iOS Simulator Apple Music and other Apple apps show correct Liquid Glass on same device Brand new Xcode project with just .glassEffect() also renders dark TestFlight build (App Store signing) has the SAME problem - still dark/gray This rules out developer signing vs App Store signing as the cause

What I've tried:

Clean build, delete derived data, reinstall app Completely reinstalled Xcode All accessibility settings correct (Reduce Transparency OFF, Liquid Glass set to Clear) Disabled Metal diagnostics Debug and Release builds Added window configuration for Extended sRGB/P3 color space Added AppDelegate with configureWindowForLiquidGlass() Tried .preferredColorScheme(nil) Tried background animation to force "live" rendering

Environment:

iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26.3 Xcode 26.2 macOS 26.3

The question: Why does .glassEffect() work for Apple's apps but not third party apps, even with App Store signing via TestFlight? What am I missing?

Boost

Answer 1

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

1d

Hello Jmckinney,

Thanks for the detailed information you've provided about the issue. Can you please attach a screenshot (preferably inline with your post) demonstrating what you're seeing?

Based on what you're describing, .glassEffect() should be working. Can you please also share a code snippet of how you are calling the function?

Thanks for your patience,

Richard Yeh  Developer Technical Support

0

Answer 2

Jmckinney OP

21h

Thanks Richard. Here are the screenshots and code.

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        ZStack {
            LinearGradient(colors: [.pink, .orange, .yellow], startPoint: .top, endPoint: .bottom)
                .ignoresSafeArea()
            Text("Test")
                .padding()
                .glassEffect()
        }
    }
}

Screenshots attached:

GlassTest app on physical device - dark/muddy gray (incorrect)
GlassTest app on Simulator - light/frosted (correct)
Apple Music tab bar on same device - renders correctly
My actual app (Ripple) - same dark/gray issue

Simulator Screenshot - iPhone 17 Pro - 2026-01-27 at 22.01.23.png M y

IMG_7098 2.PNG actual app (Ripple) - same dark/gray issue

0

Answer 3

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

23m

Hello Jmckinney,

Can you please confirm if your device has Dark mode on under Display & Brightness > Appearance, or it's enabled via Automatic + the time of the day? I was able to reproduce the issue with your sample code under Dark mode, but it goes away under Light mode.

Thank you for your patience,

Richard Yeh  Developer Technical Support Light mode.png

0