Apple’s 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) may have been packed with announcements, but the reception has been anything but unanimous. At the centre of the storm is the company’s new “Liquid Glass” interface—billed as a sweeping visual transformation across iOS 26, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and VisionOS—which has sparked a wave of online criticism, with many accusing Apple of recycling design ideas and lagging in AI innovation.

According to Apple, Liquid Glass represents its boldest design leap in years, drawing inspiration from the layered spatial UI of Vision Pro. The interface makes extensive use of translucent panels, fluid depth elements, and soft blur effects—meant to create a more immersive, dynamic user experience. Demo videos released by the company show off the aesthetic in rich detail, touting it as a new era of visual sophistication across its ecosystem.

But the reception has been less than enthusiastic. As highlighted in a press note, while the interface may be new for Apple, it immediately reminded many of Microsoft’s Windows Vista-era “Aero Glass” design. Across social media and tech forums, users have called out the design as dated rather than daring.

Tech influencer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) voiced his reservations about the interface’s readability on X (formerly Twitter), saying he’s “a bit concerned with readability,” especially in dense notification spaces. Many echoed his concern, questioning how usable or practical the translucent blur-heavy style would be in everyday scenarios. A widely shared meme summed up the sentiment: “Apple, in 2025, finally discovers Vista. Congratulations.”

Another user wrote, “Not gonna lie, not really liking Apple’s Liquid Glass design language in the 26 OSes. It already feels dated in its look and has strong Windows Vista and Windows 7 vibes.” Others were more direct: “How am I supposed to read anything on this glassy background?”

Still, the WWDC wasn’t without bright spots. Apple did unveil features that have been positively received—particularly its new real-time translation across Messages, FaceTime, and phone calls. The refreshed Photos app also drew praise for its new layout and organisation features, while Messages now supports group polls, Apple Cash transactions within chats, and custom conversation backgrounds—catching up to several rival platforms.

However, the company’s approach to artificial intelligence continues to draw fire. Much-anticipated “Apple Intelligence” features, hyped throughout the iPhone 16 marketing cycle, were notably absent from the OS rollouts. Consumers have been vocal about the lack of meaningful AI integration, especially in comparison to rival offerings like Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI.

The criticism was further fuelled by Apple’s own research paper published earlier this month—titled “The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity”—which controversially argued that large language models are essentially pattern-recognition systems, not capable of actual reasoning. Many viewed this as Apple tempering expectations around AI capabilities in its ecosystem.

Perhaps the most glaring omission was any mention of Siri. The voice assistant, long overdue for a major overhaul, was nowhere in sight at WWDC. Its stagnation stands in sharp contrast to advancements by Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and even newer entrants like Perplexity AI, all of which have seen upgrades in conversational ability and contextual awareness.

With a design backlash brewing and AI delays mounting, Apple finds itself at a crossroads. The Liquid Glass interface may be beautiful on the surface—but as many users are pointing out, surface may not be enough.