'Welcome Back Windows Vista' - Apple's Liquid Glass Design Faces Heat From People

Many users compared Apple's new Liquid Glass design to Windows Vista Aero, pointing out Microsoft's similar attempt nearly two decades ago.

Hyderabad: The biggest takeaway from the WWDC 2025 was Apple's adoption of a new design language for all its platforms. The Cupertino-based tech giant revealed a new look for the upcoming iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26, powered by new material Liquid Glass, which takes inspiration from visionOS' clean and immersive look.

Apple calls the new translucent interface "a delightful and elegant new software design", which is meant to "bring more focus to content" and "a new level of vitality", establishing more harmony between platforms while maintaining their distinct qualities.

However, users on social media don't appear to be amused by the design or the WWDC keynote. At first glance, the new Liquid Glass design that "reflects and refracts its surroundings" reminds many of the days when everyone's desktop computers were running Windows Vista Aero. A lot of people on X echoed this sentiment, and some even shared side-by-side images of Liquid Glass and Vista. Basically, there were no "Android did it 10 years ago" statements this year, but Microsoft did it in 2006-2007.

The Windows Vista update with aero glass was a huge part of my childhood, so I'm getting serious flashbacks

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) June 9, 2025

welcome back, windows vista pic.twitter.com/1vVdEwFeZL

— Val Pieŭnioŭ (@mamkindesigner) June 9, 2025

Introducing Liquid Glass #WWDC25 pic.twitter.com/rI4RN8yLuY

— ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) June 9, 2025

First look at MacOS 26#Apple #WWDC25 pic.twitter.com/q8KS5B2VVw

— 𝐎𝕏𝐈𝐑 (@OXIR__) June 9, 2025

There were also others who rejected the new design language, calling it unimpressive. Some users also shared scepticism about the readability of the text. There were also those who thought the entire event was just a waste of time, as Apple did not announce anything of value during the keynote address.

I love that we're back to 'ok but which of these toggles is on and which is off'?! in iOS pic.twitter.com/KQFwbPPHI4

— joshpuckett (@joshpuckett) June 9, 2025

I can’t see anything 😅 pic.twitter.com/qqBtaibQis

— Beto (@betomoedano) June 9, 2025

We used to have standards and taste. pic.twitter.com/oi9ddpIWhf

— Hardik Pandya (@hvpandya) June 9, 2025

Steve Jobs would have fired everyone pic.twitter.com/UsiCu6j07u

— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) June 9, 2025

I'm a bit concerned with readability pic.twitter.com/8XZLfzzvG2

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) June 9, 2025

iOS users in 26 #iOS26 pic.twitter.com/S5oCZGgXgb

— Attila (@ablenessy) June 9, 2025

While user sentiments aren't entirely positive, Apple seems to be already on the track to head in the direction with full force. It has released APIs for SwiftUI, UIKit, and AppKit to let developers integrate the new Liquid Glass design into their apps.