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Comment by nharada | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how much of this transparent/glass design language is setting Apple up for AR interfaces where UI is overlaid on what you're looking at. Since you literally cannot have fully opaque elements with AR glasses this would be a smart way to ensure overall design is unified across platforms.

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Right before the unveiling, Craig specifically said visionOS was the driver for these changes. So the new UI is literally because Apple is still betting on visionOS.

The thing I find really weird there is that visionOS panes and windows are more opaque than this. They have some transparency, but it's a heavily tinted frosted glass effect with entirely readable contrast. This may be "inspired" by visionOS, but this looks like somebody really just threw out that design and the usability with it.

It’s more likely because the visionOS designers needed something to move on to, so Liquid Glass is just their next project, and it’s less work to do a similar thing as they did on visionOS. The new look also isn’t actually the same as visionOS, just adopts some design elements.

good god. this never ends well.

It could be worse, at least they didn’t rename the company over their VR headset.

TBF it is a less prejudiced name than the one they used before.

I think they really wanted to change their image, and the metaverse thing happened to also be a decent candidate for that.

Bingo. It seems like the same mistakes made by MS in the 2000s when they prioritized a touch interface onto devices without them... why is Apple so desperate to make Vision happen?

Because it's the only thing they have that even has a chance of being "the next big thing".

So they're gambling everything on it; Steve would have shitcanned it a year ago and fired everyone involved.

I think asserting that there is no consumer product to be had in the realm of AR/spatial computing is shortsighted.

And if so, then why not work on it? The research in AR has already improved the phones as well.

I don’t be grudge I’m trying. I do be grudge them, forcing every other workable component that they make to pretend that it’s a really good idea.

Same thing Microsoft did with their tablet UI forced on all of their operating systems.

And I don’t think that’s happening. The keynote was not about how great this UI is for AR.

but they can work on it without ruining ios. no?

They can't even work on iOS without ruining macOS, so, no.

This idea is not in the comment I am replying to.

Also a great way to speed up hardware upgrades. Each new os update can add more computationally expensive frills to make the older phones slow down.

This was also my first thought, "imagine how many who think their device is too old after installing this "everything transparent" OS update". I bet shareholders will love it though.

We had operating systems with transparent windows 20 years ago. I have a hard time believing this UI will stress any device released in the last 5 years.

One of the more common “problems” people have is that their devices are so much more powerful than they will ever use.

Go look at videos of the current UI. It's not just doing an alpha blend between two static images. It's doing real time effects to mimic refraction and color separation the way you except to see through glass.

Also, 20 years ago you're talking about desktops connected to the wall, or laptops with no expectations of battery life. The name of the game for phones is use the hardware as little as possible a down clock asap. The fancier the UI, the longer older hardware need to stay upclocked and the more they have to work to hit 60fps (or more) smoothly.

I love the switcheroo thought experiment: imagine we have always had transparent glassy user interfaces; for whatever reason, that's what the techology allowed. And in 2025 we have made a breakthrough and finally achieved opaque buttons. Would this change be just as controversial?

No, it would be a massive net positive. Everyone would love these new opaque buttons that obscure the noise underneath so that you can easily read foreground text.

In light of AR glasses, this thought experiment is even more relevant...

You are incorrect. Apple’s (current) AR system uses cameras and video feeds, not translucent/transparent displays. You absolutely can have fully opaque elements; when the AVP is worn, all you see are displays. When it’s off, you see nothing but pure black.

> Since you literally cannot have fully opaque elements with AR glasses

Why not?

Because AR glasses, by definition, overlay an interface onto the real world that you are seeing through the transparent glasses.

VR glasses like the VisionPRO can add a video stream of your surroundings, but they are physically opaque and thus don't suffer from this limitation.

But why does the interface have to be transparent? Why can't it just be opaque then disappear when not needed and/or be placed in the periphery?

If we're still speaking about AR glasses, no current technology can make the images more opaque than the screen itself. So if the screen itself is transparent, whatever you draw on it with light will be at best as opaque as the screen - so, still transparent.

Wouldn't that be a crazy bet, given how much AR has flopped? Or do people still think it's more than a fad of the early 2020s?

It seems to be largely based on the visionOS stuff.

This is 100% for that reason.

I had the same thought as soon as they announced quartz. I'm really happy with the new GUI. I think it really demonstrated the flaws of the previous design.

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