Here’s a refined view on Apple’s Liquid Glass design and whether it’s the “Windows Vista done well” moment:
🧊 What is Liquid Glass?
- Announced June 9, 2025, at WWDC, Liquid Glass is Apple’s first major UI redesign since iOS 7 .
- It’s a translucent, layered, glass-like interface spanning iOS 26, macOS Tahoe (macOS 26), iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS .
- Technically, it employs real-time rendering—blurring, lighting, and color adaptation referencing ambient content—powered by A18/M-series chips.
Vista Comparisons: Similar, but refined
- Many critics and designers have noted clear visual echoes of Windows Aero from Vista—translucent glass effects, layered panes.
- Apple executives emphasize it’s built as a cohesive, modern evolution: implemented across all platforms with developer tools (SwiftUI, UIKit, AppKit) to maintain both polish and performance .
- Unlike Vista, which was often seen as tacky or performance-heavy, Liquid Glass is optimized on powerful Apple silicon and designed for visual consistency and UI unity .
Reception: Mixed Reviews
✅ Positives:
- Elegant and expressive: Many designers admire its shimmering depth and dynamic integration .
- Unified across device types, building on existing design language from visionOS and Vision Pro .
⚠️ Negatives:
- Readability concerns: Some users find transparency “a literal eyesore” and hard to read; one UI designer noted it’s “too transparent” .
- Backlash & memes: Online users are comparing it to iOS 7’s redesign and Vista-era overdesign, calling it “ugliest thing Apple has ever done” .
- Market skepticism: Analysts say this refresh was overshadowed by a lack of AI breakthroughs, prompting Wall Street to regard the event as more “incremental” than groundbreaking .
Windows Vista Done Well?
✅ Performance: Leveraging modern silicon to deliver smooth visuals without system lag—unlike Vista’s hardware demands.
✅ Ecosystem-wide: Liquid Glass is uniformly integrated across all Apple devices, avoiding the patchy feel Vista had in earlier Windows versions.
⚠️ Readability & usability trade-offs: The same translucency that looks beautiful could make text harder to read—though Apple is working on refining contrast and blur depth.
🧭 More evolutionary than transformative: This is a major visual refresh, not a complete UI overhaul. It’s a refined take on a classic aesthetic, designed to feel cohesive rather than nostalgic.
Bottom Line
- Liquid Glass isn’t Vista done well, but rather Vista-like done better—with modern hardware, unified APIs, and refined visuals.
- It feels like a sleek nod to the glassy, layered design of past eras, but reimagined for performance and cohesion.
- Still, Apple will need to address legibility and practicality, especially in low-light or visually dense scenarios.