At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for Design.
Can you expand on how Liquid Glass helps with navigation and focus in the UI?
Liquid Glass clarifies the navigation layer by introducing a single, floating pane that acts as the primary navigation area. Buttons within this pane seamlessly morph as you move between sections, and controls can temporarily lift into the glass surface. While avoiding excessive use of glass (like layering glass on glass), this approach simplifies navigation and strengthens the connection between menus, alerts, and the elements that trigger them.
What should I do with customized bars that I might have in my app?
Reconsider the content and behavior of customized bars. Evaluate whether you need all the buttons and whether a menu might be a better solution. Instead of relying on background colors or styling, express hierarchy through layout and grouping. This is a good opportunity to adopt the new design language and simplify your interface.
What are scroll edge effects, and what options do we have for them?
Scroll edge effects enhance legibility in controls by lifting interactive elements and separating them from the background. There are two types: a soft edge effect (a subtle blur) and a hard edge effect (a more defined boundary for high-legibility areas like column sorting). Scroll edge effects are designed to work seamlessly with Liquid Glass, allowing content to feel expansive while ensuring controls and titles remain legible.
How can we ensure or improve accessibility using Liquid Glass?
Legibility is a priority, and refinements are ongoing throughout the betas. Liquid Glass adapts well to accessibility settings like Reduce Transparency, Increase Contrast, and Reduce Motion. There are two variants of glass: regular glass, designed to be legible by default, and clear glass, used in places like AVKit, which requires more care to ensure legibility. Use color contrast tools to ensure contrast ratios are met. The Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) are a living document offering best practices. The colors and materials pages are key resources.
Do you have any recommendations for convincing designers concerned with consistency across Android and Web to use Liquid Glass?
Start small and focus on high-utility controls that don't significantly impact brand experience. Native controls offer familiarity and predictability to users. Using the native controls makes sure your app feels at home on the device. Using native frameworks provides built-in accessibility support (dynamic type, reduce transparency, increase contrast). Native controls come with built-in behaviors and interactions.
Can ScrollViews include Liquid Glass within them?
You can technically put a glass layer inside a scroll view, but it can feel heavy and doesn't align with the system's intention for Liquid Glass to serve as a fixed layer. Think of the content layer as the scrolling layer, and the navigational layer as the one using Liquid Glass. If there is glass on the content layer it will collide into the navigational layer.
What core design philosophy guided the direction of iOS 26, beyond the goal of unification?
The core design philosophy involved blurring the line between hardware and software, separating UI and navigation elements from content, making apps adaptable across window sizes, and combining playfulness with sophistication. It was about making the UI feel at home on rounded screens.
Can we layer Liquid Glass elements on top of each other?
Avoid layering Liquid Glass elements directly on top of each other, as it creates unnecessary visual complexity. The system will automatically convert nested glass elements to a vibrant fill style. Use vibrant fills and labels to show control shapes and ensure legibility. Opaque grays should be avoided in favor of vibrant colors, which will multiply with the backgrounds correctly.
What will happen to apps that use custom components? Should they be adapted to the new design within the next year?
The more native components you use, the more things happen for free. Standard components will be upgraded automatically. Look out for any customizations that might clash. Think about what is the minimum viable change, where your app still feels and looks very similar to what it did. Prioritize changes in core workflows and navigational areas. There are a number of benefits to using native components including user familiarity, built-in accessibility support, and built-in behaviors and interactions.
Will Apple be releasing Figma design templates?
Sketch kits were published on Monday and can be referenced. The goal is to ensure the resources are well-organized, well-named, and easy to use. It's a high priority.
Explore the art and science of app design. Discuss user interface (UI) design principles, user experience (UX) best practices, and share design resources and inspiration.
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Hi everyone 👋 I’m a new iOS developer working on my first app and I’ve run into a frustrating visual bug involving my app icon during the launch/close transition.
Issue:
When I use Icon Composer (the new tool introduced for iOS 26) to generate my app icon, I consistently see a thin white border or “fringe” around the icon only during the transition animation (when the app opens or closes). It disappears once the animation ends.
What I tested and confirmed:
• I exported the exact same design directly from Adobe Illustrator as a 1024×1024 PNG, fully opaque, RGB color mode, background color filling the entire canvas (no transparency, no borders, no rounded corners).
• When I place that exported PNG directly into the AppIcon asset catalog in Xcode, the icon renders perfectly — no white fringe appears, just a slightly darker shade of blue during transitions (expected and acceptable).
• But when I generate the icon using Icon Composer, the white edge always appears, even if I disable effects, use full coverage layers, or only keep a flat color layer.
Notes:
• Tested on iOS 26 (latest beta) using Xcode 16.
• The issue seems specific to Icon Composer’s export format or metadata — maybe it’s not stripping alpha correctly or something related to the squircle mask?
• I followed all recommended specs: 1024×1024 px, PNG, sRGB, no transparency, exported from Illustrator at 72ppi with solid background.
Even tested without the logo, just the icon made with icon composer
Is anyone else experiencing this issue with Icon Composer exports?
Is there an official recommendation to avoid this during transitions or should I simply avoid Icon Composer for production icons for now and stick with Illustrator / Figma exports?
Thanks so much
Here’s a visual example:
I've noticed that the App Store app tends to make the selected tab indicator darker on light mode and lighter on dark mode.
Is there any easy way to ensure better legibility out of the box with Tab View (SwiftUI) when using the tint modifier with custom colors?
I have accidentally missed the sign up window for the UX Writing lab by 1 hour, but I'd still love to join it if at all possible. I have had this lab several times in the past and it was always very informative.
I have a time tracking app that helps people make the most of their time. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timelines-time-tracking/id1112433234
I'm looking for guidance on how to improve copywriting in my onboarding sequence, on my paywall, and overall throughout the app.
Thank you for considering. My Apple ID is lukas[at]glimsoft.com.
Scenario is when keyboard is opened within the app being developed then switch to other app, for instance, Notes app and create a note to enable keyboard from there. While the Notes app keyboard is active switch back to the developed app the keyboard in it is dismissed. Any thoughts?Thanks
Is there anyway I can customize Carplay template look like this
We are working on one of the projects for Hackathon for which we need to access the 3D Models of Apple Watch, it will help in making our project more realistic and effective, I wanted to know if we can get access for the same.
Hi,
I was trying to use macOS-Sequoia-Production-Templates in Sketch format and when I try to export png icon file of the document template, it always includes grey nontransparent background which I am unable to delete. In contrast, exporting png app icon file from another template has transparent background and exports well.
Is it something wrong with the document icon production template? How can I export document png icon file with transparent background??
Thanks
Hello everyone,
I'm very impressed with the Liquid Glass design introduced in iOS 26, especially how native app icons automatically adapt to the system's display mode (dark or light).
This brings me to a question: Is it possible to make a website shortcut icon created via Safari's "Add to Home Screen" feature adapt to Dark Mode in the same way?
For native apps, we can use tools like Icon Composer and asset catalogs (Assets.xcassets) to provide different icons for each mode. It would be a huge improvement for web clips if we could achieve the same with existing web technologies like apple-touch-icon or the Web App Manifest.
If anyone has figured out a way to do this, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your knowledge.
Thanks in advance!
日本語の原文:
iOS 26から導入されたLiquid Glassデザインについて。
ネイティブアプリのアイコンがシステムの表示モード(ダークモード/ライトモード)に合わせて自動で最適化されるようになりました。
そこで疑問に思ったのですが、Safariから「ホーム画面に追加」機能を使って作成するWebサイトのショートカットアイコンは、ネイティブアプリと同じようにダークモードに対応できないのでしょうか?
ネイティブアプリの場合は、Icon Composerなどのツールでアセットカタログ(Assets.xcassets)を使い、モードごとのアイコンを用意できますよね。
Web側でも、apple-touch-iconやWeb App Manifestといった既存の仕組みを使って、アイコンを動的に切り替えられるようになると、Webクリップの使い勝手がさらに向上すると思うのですが
もし、すでに何らかの方法で対応されている方がいらっしゃれば、ぜひその知見を共有していただけると嬉しいです。
I’m not a developer - I’m just trying to find out where to post a question I have that might relate to iOS 26.
I'm using .glassEffect(.clear) on a transparent circle over a gradient background. While it's closer to clear than the plain glass effect, it't not really clear, like clear glass. Here is the code. Is there a glass effect that really looks like clear glass?
Circle()
.fill(.clear)
.frame(width: 180, height: 180)
.glassEffect(.clear)
Hi everyone,
since updating to Xcode 26 Beta 3, I’m seeing some really strange behavior. I just changed the color of a Color asset in my SwiftUI view – literally just switched from one named color to another – and suddenly:
• Previews stopped working completely, with vague or no error messages.
• Even when I changed the color back to what it was before, the previews still refused to build.
• In addition, Xcode no longer restores the open tabs/windows when reopening the project. It just shows a blank editor every time I open it.
This all happened without touching any project settings or code structure – just a simple color swap.
Has anyone else run into this with Xcode 26 Beta 3?
Would love to know if it’s a known bug or if there’s a workaround (besides nuking Derived Data, which I’ve already tried).
Thanks!
I am developing an app that requires calling the iPhone's Face ID module to scan users' facial data. Where can I find Apple's design resources and guidelines for Face ID? The Face ID resources available in Figma are incomplete, and I need more support.
For example, in the iPhone settings, the scenario: the UI interface for scanning the user's face to collect data, specifically the circular design in the "How to Set Up Face ID" screen.
I am creating a Generate note app but I don't see the text in the button when I applied the MeshGradient. I removed the Mesh Gradient and text is there. Need some help to find the issue. I am new to app Development and I am learning how to use it. Below is the code:
import SwiftUI
struct ContentView: View {
@State private var inputText: String = ""
@State private var isLoading: Bool = false
var body: some View {
ZStack {
Color(.systemGray6).edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.all)
VStack (spacing: 20) {
Text("Generate Notes")
.font(.title)
.fontWeight(.bold)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
Text("Transform your thoughts into well-structured notes using artificial intelligence.")
.font(.subheadline)
.foregroundStyle(.secondary)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
TextEditor(text: $inputText)
.frame(height: 200)
.padding()
.background(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16)
.fill(Color(.systemGray6)))
Button(action: {}) {
HStack {
if isLoading {
ProgressView()
.tint(.white)
} else {
Image(systemName: "sparkles")
}
Text(isLoading ? "Generating..." : "Generate Notes")
}
.padding()
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity)
.background(
MeshGradient(width: 3, height: 3, points: [
.init(0, 0), .init(0.5, 0), .init(1, 0),
.init(0, 0.5), .init(0.5, 0.5), .init(1, 0.5),
.init(0, 1), .init(0.5, 1), .init(1, 1)
], colors: [
.blue, .purple, .indigo,
.orange, .white, .blue,
.yellow, .green, .mint
])
)
.mask(
RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16)
.stroke(lineWidth: 16)
.blur(radius: 8)
)
.overlay(
RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16)
.stroke(.white, lineWidth: 1)
.blur(radius: 1)
.blendMode(.overlay)
)
.background(.black)
.foregroundColor(.white)
.cornerRadius(16)
.background(
RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 16)
.stroke(.black.opacity(0.5), lineWidth: 1)
)
.shadow(color: .black.opacity(0.15), radius: 20, x: 0, y: 20)
.shadow(color: .black.opacity(0.1), radius: 15, x: 0, y: 15)
}
.disabled(isLoading || inputText.isEmpty)
Spacer()
}
.padding(32)
.background(Color(.systemBackground))
.cornerRadius(44)
.shadow(color: .black.opacity(0.1), radius: 20, x:0, y:10)
}
}
}
#Preview {
ContentView()
}
I use swiftui to build apps on iPhone and iPad.
There is no problem with the iPhone app.
The game display is fully shown on iPhone.
However, for the iPad, the game display is not shown and the screen goes black.
I had to tap the button on the upper left side.(looks like a side view button)
After that, the game display is only shown in the left side in a very small size.
How can I make the game display fully shown in the iPad?
Hi everyone,
I’m currently testing iOS 26 on my iPhone as part of the developer program. According to Apple’s documentation and demo materials, a new screenshot animation was introduced in this version. However, when I take a screenshot on my device, the animation remains the same as in previous iOS versions.
I’ve double-checked that I’m running the correct build of iOS 26, and I haven’t found any settings that might enable or disable this feature.
Is anyone else experiencing the same issue? Could this new animation be device-specific, region-limited, or require additional configuration?
Any insight would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Alonso Rivera
🔍 Context
The built-in screenshot editor in iOS and iPadOS (Markup tool) only allows users to crop images using rectangular frames. While this is sufficient for basic editing, it lacks flexibility for those who wish to tailor the screenshot to the aesthetics of iOS itself — which relies heavily on rounded shapes and smooth UI elements.
⸻
🚫 Current Limitation
• After taking a screenshot and opening it in Markup, users can only crop in rectangular or square formats.
• No option is available to apply rounded corners to the crop.
• As a result, many users are forced to use third-party apps just to achieve a basic rounded-edge crop, which feels unnecessary for such a common need.
⸻
✅ Proposed Solution
Add a rounded corner cropping feature to the screenshot editor.
This could be implemented as:
• A toggle to activate “Rounded Crop”.
• A radius slider (or predefined corner radius presets).
• Optional: an export option to save the result with transparent background, useful for designers and mockups.
⸻
🎯 Why it matters
• Aligns better with the iOS design language (cards, notifications, widgets, etc.).
• Saves time for users who currently have to rely on external editing apps.
• Greatly improves the presentation of screenshots for social media, UI/UX mockups, blogs, and professional use cases.
• Useful across many professions: developers, designers, content creators, educators, marketers.
⸻
📷 Visual Example
Here’s a mockup to illustrate the proposed feature:
(Add your image here)
⸻
💡 Bonus Suggestion
Allow exporting with a transparent background when cropping screenshots — especially useful for rounded crops or mockups placed on colored backgrounds.
Hello,
I recently submitted my app to the Apple Store and received a rejection under Guideline 4.3(a) - Design - Spam, stating that my app is similar to others on the store. However, my app has a unique feature set, offers more functionality and content than competitors, and is completely free with ad monetization, unlike most similar apps that require subscriptions.
I have spent five months developing this app from scratch, ensuring it provides an original and valuable experience for users. I did not use an app template or repackaged code, and my app is not a reskinned version of any existing app. I genuinely believe it brings meaningful differentiation to the market.
I would appreciate any guidance on how I can better communicate my app’s uniqueness to the review team or what specific aspects I should adjust to comply with Apple's guidelines.
Thank you for your time and support.
Existing smartphones store multiple NFC card information. When the NFC antenna of the phone is close to the card reader, it is usually necessary to open the APP to select NFC card information or default to one card information to be transmitted to the card reader. It is not possible to quickly select or switch cards among multiple cards. For example, after using the NFC function to swipe the subway card, the phone needs to open the car access control and community access control again. It is necessary to open the mobile NFC card information management APP to select the community access control card and then swipe the mobile NFC access control, which causes inconvenience.
(现有的智能手机存储多个 NFC 卡信息。当手机的NFC天线靠近读卡器时,通常需要打开APP选择NFC卡信息或默认一个卡信息传输到读卡器。无法在多张卡之间快速选择或切换卡。例如,使用NFC功能刷完地铁卡后,手机需要重新打开车内门禁和小区门禁。需要打开手机NFC卡信息管理APP选择社区门禁卡,然后刷手机NFC门禁,造成不便。)
Divide the smartphone screen into multiple areas, and users can freely define corresponding NFC information for each area. When the screen is turned off and not unlocked, select NFC card information by pressing different screen areas with your fingers. When the mobile NFC is close to the card reader, the selected card information will be transmitted to the reader(将智能手机屏幕划分多个区域,每个区域手机用户可以自由定义对应NFC信息。在熄屏’不解锁的情况下,通过手指按压不同屏幕区域选择NFC卡片信息,手机NFC贴近读卡器时将选择的卡片信息传递给读卡器。)
Below, the method will be further explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a utility model;
Figure 2 is the flowchart of the present utility model;
NFC reader, 2. Mobile screen partition, 3. NFC signal in Figure 1.
In Figure 2, 1. Press the area of the screen partition with your finger. 2. Place the phone close to the NFC reader. 3. The phone senses the returned NFC signal. 4. The phone detects the pressed area.(
下面结合附图和实施例对方法进一步说明。
图1为实用新型示意图;
图2为本实用新型流程图;
图1中1.NFC读取器,2.手机屏幕分区,3.NFC信号。
图2中1.手指按压屏幕分区的区域2.手机贴近NFC读取器3.手机感应到返回的NFC信号4.手机检测到按压的区域,5.是否检测到手机用户按压区域的动作,6.检测到按压区域,根据按压区域做出匹配相对应的NFC的动作7.选择用户所需的NFC卡8.NFC卡收到信息并发出卡片信息9.NFC读卡器收到NFC卡的信息。)
For example, a smartphone user has N NFC virtual cards in their phone. Users can divide the smartphone screen into N areas, distinguished as A area, B area, C area..., each area controls different NFC. When a smartphone user holds down the B area that controls NFC (such as virtual access cards) and brings the phone close to the NFC card reader (such as access control). The mobile phone will sense NFC signals (access control signals), triggering the phone to detect the area that the user is pressing. There are two possibilities. Firstly, if the user's pressing action is not detected, the NFC card corresponding to the default A zone (set as the default here) will be selected. If the user's pressing action is detected and it is detected that the pressing is in Zone B (the partition corresponding to the access card), then the NFC information corresponding to Zone B is triggered. The smartphone receives this message, and the corresponding NFC sends out a card message. The NFC card reader (access control device) receives the message and reacts (door opens).(例如,一智能手机用户手机中有N个NFC虚拟卡。用户可以将智能手机屏幕分为N个区域,分辨为A区、B区、C区······,每个区域分别控制不同的NFC。当智能手机用户按住控制NFC(如虚拟门禁卡)的B区域并将手机靠近NFC读卡器(如门禁)。手机将会感应到NFC信号(门禁信号),触发手机检测用户正在按压的区域。有两种可能性,第一没有检测到用户的按压动作则选择默认的A区(这里把A区设为默认)所对应的NFC卡。第二检测到用户的按压动作并检测出按压的是B区域(门禁卡所对应的分区),则触发B区域所对应的NFC信息。智能手机收到此信息,相对应的NFC发出卡片信息,NFC读卡器(门禁设备)收到信息,做出反应(门打开)。)
图1 image1
图2 image2
I recently got feedback for my app under Guideline 4.2 - Design - Minimum Functionality, and I’m a bit confused. Apple mentioned that the app isn’t “app-like” enough and doesn’t provide sufficient entertainment value or utility.
However, I genuinely think my app is unique compared to others on the market. Most similar apps only offer basic features like scorekeeping and saving the game. My app goes beyond that by tracking detailed statistics based on the types of scores achieved during the game. At the end, there’s even a Player Ratings section, which enhances competition and makes the experience more fun for players.
Additionally, in today’s gaming scene, many groups play the traditional 101 game with a reward and penalty system. My app uniquely incorporates a reward system, something no other app in the market currently offers.
I believe my app has the potential to stand out and meet the needs of a wide audience. Has anyone faced similar feedback? Or does anyone have suggestions on how I could better address this issue?
Thanks in advance! 😊
I just discover that feature (a folder lost in the middle of others desktop folder ).
so with each updates:
-/usr/local is emptied
-somes apps in the Application folder, are deleted, even paid apps ..
-i lost : Docker, python 3.13, latexlive2025, Apache NetBeans, java install, Affinity Publisher 2, all my 3D slicers ... github desktop, Epic Games Launcher, ........
296go of apps
Franckly : c'est la merde !!!
I am using a MacBook Pro 16" 2019
any way to stop this behavior ?
thank you !!!