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.

In Apple Vision Pro, I want to implement a HUD page similar to the one in Medivis' SuricalAR product (i.e. the UI is fixed on the screen field of view rather than in space). How should I do it?

Where is the Figma App Icon Template mentioned in the Developer session https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/361?

I'm looking for a way to display a notification badge without showing a number—essentially, just an empty badge to indicate the presence of notifications. From my research, it seems like this functionality isn't available . Is there any workaround or method to achieve this?

Hi, Anybody knows will this occurs when using navigationStack at iOS 18.3? The navigationStack not stay at safeareas the code as simple as that: NavigationStack(path: $navManager.path) { VStack { Text("Hello") } .navigationDestination(for: Route.self) { route in switch route { .... } } } .environmentObject(navManager) .environment(logic)

We're using StoreKit for in-app purchases on iOS, and our backend has the server notification URL configured. However, during subscription renewals, Apple's server doesn't send any requests to our endpoint. What could be causing this?

I have completed a code with chatgpt and I am unising the latest version of code. i am also using an m1 MacBook air (2020). would love to know if anyone have resolved this issue. by using the ai to correct the code it disrupts it with something. an incorrect imoout line,but after multiple attempts ai get it right. I have notice that the code shows up on the start meaning run, take some time to load the intro page.

I found that unofficial apps like ChatGPT and Shadowrocket can use widgets in VisionOS 26. How is this achieved? How can I also enable widgets for apps I develop?

I found that on my cutomer's mac device, webflterproxyd start interferiing with the NE traffic. Tried to stop it, but "screen time" was not enabled at all. Who started this webfilterproxyd process and how to stop it?

We all know that the feature “Always On Display” is available only on pro models. I checked in iPhone 14 Plus, that feature became visible in “Search” menu under “Settings”. If a user types “Displa”, then the search results show “Always On Display” as a result. When I click on that, it navigates inside “Display and Brightness” and we found no toggle for “Always On Display”. So, displaying the same on search result is a big bug which needs immediate attention from Apple. Users are getting confused whether iPhone 14 plus has that feature or not.. **Possible reason: ** I believe Apple releases iPhone OS versions in a single release each time and must be applying any kind of feature flagging to enable / disable a feature in a version or for a model. The feature flagging might not be working with Settings menu’s Search service or the code is not properly modular.

Hi is there possibly to put text data or information into Roomplanapi elements like data wall color etc and export to usdz after lidar scan

I’m currently using the iOS 26 Developer Beta and noticed the new icon design for the Camera app. Personally, I preferred the previous icon it looked cleaner, more elegant, and felt more in line with Apple’s signature iOS design language. The new icon feels more like something you’d expect from Android. It lacks the minimalist, refined style that usually defines iOS icons. I understand UI evolves over time, but this change feels like a step away from what makes Apple’s design philosophy unique. Just wanted to share this honest feedback as a long-time user and developer. Thanks for considering!

Hello Apple Developer Support, We initially uploaded our INRx App on a different Apple Developer account for internal testing purposes. Now, we would like to publish the same app under a new Apple Developer account for production, but we're currently facing a design-related rejection during the review process. We believe the app meets all guidelines, and there were no design issues flagged previously when submitted from the testing account. Could you please help us understand: Why the same app is now being rejected for design issues? Is there a way to resolve this while moving the app to the new account? Any advice or clarification would be greatly appreciated so we can successfully proceed with publishing. Thank you!

Dear Developer, Is there a way to create a function to search with inside a text without having to be outside all of the messages? In other words, could I go into one of my contact’s texts and then search specifically inside that message as can be done on Android? This would be such an amazing function And make life so much easier. Thank you.

Hello, I am looking to develop a relationship with a developer that has experience running through the IOS build approval process. To elaborate, my team and I have designed and built a software application which is working through the Apple Developer review process to have the app approved and released to the App Store. Unfortunately, there has been some challenges, simple challenges in my eyes with our interface preventing Apple from approving our application. Happy to elaborate further. A primary problem and solution I have seen is the software build was testing solely on the iPhone but as recently directed it seem the application must be accessible on iPad as well. With this the case, I have experience some software platforms where on the ipad the interface is not displayed on the whole screen. I am looking for direction on how to implement this setup for the 1st IOS build. Another concern from Apples Developer Review team is the App Tracking Transparency kit may need to be implemented.

Hi, I just had V1.0 of my app approved on the App Store and I immediately noticed that the icon preview is broken. It looks good in Xcode, on-device and also in the App Store link preview. The icon was built with Icon Composer. Here's the difference (left is App store): Has anyone encountered the same issue and found a solution?

I've been playing around with the recently published iPad PRO M5 13" and it's awesome in most ways I've been able to think of. But this video capture of the app I'm developing, for example, lacks it the app icon "should" be just slightly translucent as I see it. https://youtube.com/CAukICBrVzw However I'm not and UI/X person and this is primarily my personal preference only for an option to allow for devs.

I've made the code in xcode for apple watch with 2 swift view (contentView.swift and interfaceController.swift).The swift for sound and haptic feedback is in InterfaceController.swift. But the the sound does not appear with haptic feedback in apple watch after complete the xcode. the app is done but no sound appear with haptic feedback when rotate apple watch digital crown. when crown rotated but sound appear code import WatchKit import AVFoundation import WatchKit class InterfaceController: WKInterfaceController { // ... your UI elements func playSelectionHapticAndSound() { // Play a haptic feedback pattern WKInterfaceDevice.current().play(.success) // Load and play a selection sound effect guard let soundURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "spin", withExtension: "wav") else { return } do { let player = try AVAudioPlayer(contentsOf: soundURL) player.play() } catch { print("Error playing sound: \(error)") } } }

Hi guys, I've exported pngs for the middle and front images of an icon but I still se this weird shadow on top of the icon. Do anyone knows how to solve this?

As a very exclusive Apple only I want to share my thoughts on the new iOS 26 update, which I recently installed on my iPhone 16. While I genuinely appreciate Apple’s drive for innovation and personalization, this update introduces visual and stylistic changes that, in my opinion, compromise what has made iOS feel uniquely Apple for so long. Liquid Glass & Home Screen Aesthetics: When I first saw previews of the “Liquid Glass” design, I was excited. I assumed it would add more flexibility to things like the home screen customization — something like an optional effect that builds on the popular app tinting feature introduced in the previous iOS version. But instead, it appears that the Liquid Glass look is now the default and, more concerningly, unavoidable. The result is a visual experience that feels dramatically more bubbly and less refined. App icons appear more rounded and inflated in a way that — and I say this as constructively as I can — reminds me more of Android or Samsung’s One UI than of Apple’s signature design language. For someone who’s chosen Apple specifically because of its clean, crisp, and elegant UI, this shift is disappointing. iOS has always felt visually mature and thoughtfully minimal. With this update, it starts to feel overly stylized and visually heavy, which I don’t associate with Apple’s identity. Camera App – Icon Design: While I don’t have major concerns with the layout of the Camera app itself, the new Camera app icon is something I feel very strongly about. The previous design was balanced, clear, and professional — instantly recognizable. The new icon, is completely different, and it has more the camera that look like the actual iPhone camera, which I can respect the want to identify the app the iPhone. But this is not the effect I felt it has, I feel like it is less professional than before, which again makes me think a little bit about androids. This minor change feels bit because icons are what we see every day, and this one doesn’t feel quite right for Apple. Along with the new camera icon, the other new icons like the notes app, and the slight change in the message app icon, these small shifts aren’t ones I was overly pleased with, kind of felt like something that wasn’t broke and didn’t need fixed Messages App: The Messages app is where I felt the biggest disconnect. The updated keyboard with the “keys” looking more bubbly which again, makes me think android. And with the new monogram icons (initials in thick fonts with purple backgrounds), make the app feel — again — much more like an Android UI. While that might sound superficial, it doesn’t make me feel like it’s an iPhone. As someone who’s always preferred the Apple system, I’ve come to expect a particular standard of visual design — one that’s distinct from other platforms. This new look blurs that line. The once refined look of Messages is not as clean and simple as it used to be. I also preferred the gray background for monogram icons. The new colors and heavy fonts draw attention in ways that don’t feel as clean and simplistic which I have loved Apple for in the past. Control Center: Another area where I noticed a slight change is the Control Center. It’s not a big difference to the previous one, which I liked. The main difference I noticed was the brightness and sounds “bar” seems more elongated. Not a major difference but I would rather see the older design if I were to be honest. What I Did Like: There are some positives: I think the new lock screen notification styling works well, and the Liquid Glass effect looks great in that specific context. I actually really like the looks that it has with the notifications on the lock screen, having it be that transparent gives a clean and simple look. Lots of the new things that can be done in this update are very nice and convent, the more customization is great. Final Thoughts: To be clear, I offer this feedback not because I’m resisting change, but because I value what makes iOS feel like iOS. This update, while visually bold, feels like a departure from Apple’s strengths — the clean and simplistic look. If there’s one big takeaway I hope you’ll consider, some of the new looks that have been put in place give a feeling that’s not Apple, and more Android. it’s that many of these new visual styles would be better received as optional customizations, not system-wide defaults. I would love to see an update to help fix some of this. I don’t believe there is a way to “un-update” my phone but if I could I would, even though some of these new things do look and feel good.

This issue affects core system UI elements such as Control Center, notifications, and system apps. In iOS 26, the Liquid Glass UI introduces excessive transparency and blur across the system. This significantly reduces text readability, lowers contrast, and causes visual fatigue during prolonged use. There is currently no true option to fully disable Liquid Glass effects. Existing accessibility settings only partially mitigate the issue and do not restore a solid, high-contrast interface similar to iOS 18. Please consider adding a system-wide toggle to completely disable Liquid Glass and transparency effects, or provide a solid UI mode for users who prioritize readability and visual comfort. This is especially important for accessibility, as the current design negatively impacts users sensitive to eye strain and low contrast.