iOS 26 for iPhone 17 introduces a major design transformation called Liquid Glass, which significantly enhances customization options to make iPhones more personalized than ever. The update includes a wealth of new features primarily centered on visual and interactive customization for both the lock screen and home screen, along with new ways to express personality through emoji and message backgrounds.
Lock Screen Customization
The lock screen receives one of the most prominent redesigns in iOS 26 with Liquid Glass effects that create a translucent, frosted-glass aesthetic on elements such as the clock, widgets, and notifications. This effect beautifully melds with the wallpaper, giving a dynamic and elegant look. Users can personalize the lock screen by long pressing on it and accessing the "Customize" option, where they can modify font styles, colors, and transparency of the clock. A notable feature is the new "Glass" effect option, allowing the clock to take on a liquid glass appearance with adjustable color and size. The clock's position also dynamically adapts to the wallpaper's subject, maintaining focus on the primary image while giving a cleaner composition.Another exciting addition to the lock screen is the introduction of 3D Spatial Scene wallpapers. These wallpapers create a slight parallax effect where the subject of the wallpaper is separated from the background and subtly shifts as the iPhone moves, enhancing the perception of depth. Users can turn regular 2D photos into 3D spatial scenes for an immersive visual experience. The lock screen customization also supports repositioning widgets anywhere on the screen, including below the clock, instead of just beneath it as in previous versions. This freedom allows a more tailored and aesthetic lock screen layout. The lock screen notifications also adopt the Liquid Glass aesthetic with transparent layers that visually connect notifications to the rest of the display elements.
Home Screen Customization
On the home screen, the app icons can be customized with new tinting options and a fresh clear icon style that adopts the iOS 26 Liquid Glass look. Users can select from light, dark, tinted, or clear styles for their app icons. The tinted option has been enhanced with a color picker and sliders that allow precise control over the base color and tint intensity. This lets users perfectly match app icons with their wallpaper or personal theme. The clear style provides translucent, frosted-glass tiles that change between light and dark modes based on the time of day or user preference, adding a dynamic fluidity to the home screen appearance.iOS 26 also includes improved blending and interaction between app icons and wallpapers, especially with the new spatial scene wallpapers, enabling the home screen to appear more cohesive and visually engaging. The customization interface allows for easy toggling and previewing of these effects in real-time, encouraging users to explore different combinations to reflect their style.
Widgets and Control Center
Widgets on iOS 26 are even more flexible in placement, allowing them to be positioned on the lower part of the screen or integrated more seamlessly within the aesthetic of the lock screen and home screen. This placement enhancement is part of the broader theme to harmonize functional elements with the Liquid Glass design language. The Control Center also includes customizable buttons, allowing users to prioritize and reorder controls according to personal preference, which complements the updated visual style.Genmoji and Messaging Customization
Beyond visual themes, iOS 26 introduces new ways to customize communication. Users can create custom Genmojiâanimated emoji charactersâby combining existing emojis or descriptive text. These Genmoji can be highly personalized with facial expressions and animated gestures, and they can be linked to photographs of people from the Photos app for hyper-realistic expressions.Additionally, users can design custom backgrounds for Messages conversations, allowing the personalization of chat interfaces with various themes and colors tailored to the chat's mood or individual aesthetics. This customization extends to live translation features that dynamically translate message text, FaceTime captions, and phone call conversations, making communications feel smoother and more personalized across languages.
Battery and System Customizations
The battery settings interface has undergone a visual and functional revamp for clearer understanding. Detailed information about battery usage, last charge time, and percentage is presented more intuitively. While this is more functional than purely aesthetic, the update fits within the overall polished user experience of iOS 26.Additional Customization Features
- Users can resize the clock on the lock screen with a draggable bounding box, allowing finer control over the clock's prominence and integration with wallpaper.- BackTap functions have been visually refreshed with cleaner, more modern banners.
- Accessibility features include customization of motion cues with options to change colors, sizes, and dynamic patterns, allowing users to personalize visual feedback according to their preferences.
- Podcasts and media apps in iOS 26 include customizable playback settings with granular controls over speed and enhanced dialogue readability, increasing usability.
Summary of iOS 26 Customization Highlights
- Liquid Glass design language with translucent, frosted-glass elements throughout the interface.- Lock screen 3D Spatial Scene wallpapers offering parallax depth effects.
- Customizable clock styles on lock screen including font, size, color, transparency, and repositioning.
- Flexible widget placement, including widgets below and around the clock.
- Home screen app icons with selectable styles: light, dark, tinted with color picker, and clear Liquid Glass effect.
- Genmoji creation and expressive customization linked to photos.
- Custom backgrounds in Messages conversations.
- Enhanced live translation integrated into Messages, FaceTime, and phone calls.
- Revamped battery interface with detailed and clear status.
- Customizable motion and vehicle cues for accessibility.
- Enhanced media playback controls with speed and dialogue settings.
These extensive options fundamentally reshape how users can personalize the appearance and experience of their iPhone 17 running iOS 26, blending advanced visual effects with practical adjustments that enhance usability and style.