Apple was quick to address what was by far one of the biggest complaints from the first iOS 26 developer beta: Control Center contrast. With beta 2, released earlier today, Apple seems to have tweaked it for better visibility.
When Apple introduced the new Control Center UI at WWDC25, the overall design direction looked promising, thanks to the broader Liquid Glass UI overhaul. But there was one glaring usability issue: contrast.
In beta 1, many noted that opening Control Center would often leave it visually blending into whatever interface was sitting behind it. The overlay effect wasn’t strong enough, making sliders, toggles, and buttons harder to read, especially over lighter or more detailed backgrounds, which some framed as a condemnation of the entire Liquid Glass concept
That’s changing with today’s release of iOS 26 beta 2.
Top comment by Ryan W
Glassy looks cool, but in the end, I don't see how everything doesn't become heavily frosted for visibility. I'm trying to think of a real-world example where one is reading/manipulating information on a transparent medium with other elements behind it. I'm coming up blank, and there's probably a reason for that.
The updated build now applies a noticeably stronger darkening and blur effect to the background when Control Center is active. This makes the overlay pop much more clearly, improving both readability and usability. Quick toggles, media controls, and widgets all stand out better against the now-muted backdrop.
It’s a small but important tweak, and one that shows Apple is working to polish iOS 26 ahead of the public beta expected next month.
That said, while it’s tempting to chalk this up as a direct response to user feedback, the reality is that this fix was probably already in the works internally, as there’s a good chance this was part of Apple’s planned beta 2 improvements since before beta 1 came out.
Either way, the end result is the same: a more readable, more usable Control Center in iOS 26.
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