With the launch of Apple's iOS 26, the new Liquid Glass design language is set to redefine user expectations. This presents a major challenge for cross-platform apps, creating a "fidelity gap" that could leave them looking obsolete. For businesses that chose frameworks like React Native, Flutter, or Kotlin Multiplatform, it's time to ask: is your app prepared for this shift?
Liquid Glass is more than a redesign; it's a fundamental change in UI philosophy. With UI elements that reflect, refract, and morph like physical glass, it creates a dynamic and intuitive user experience that will quickly become the new standard on iOS.
This leaves cross-platform frameworks in a difficult position. Apps built with them won't automatically adopt the new aesthetic, forcing developers to choose between maintaining a consistent brand identity or achieving native platform fidelity.
How well equipped are the major frameworks to handle this change?
React Native
React Native is in a strong position. Its architecture leverages Apple's native blur effects, and the community has already produced high-fidelity toolkits to replicate the Liquid Glass experience.
Flutter
Flutter faces a bigger challenge. While its control over every pixel offers creative freedom, it gets no automatic UI updates. Developers must choose between simple, static glass effects or more powerful but experimental community packages.
Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP)
KMP offers the most flexibility. Teams can take a no-compromise approach by building a native SwiftUI interface on top of shared Kotlin logic, or use Compose Multiplatform with libraries that provide a high-quality approximation of the effect.
The arrival of Liquid Glass signals a new reality: modern, cutting-edge apps require frameworks that combine high-level components with low-level GPU access. The best choice now depends entirely on your project's priorities, whether it's pixel-perfect fidelity, speed of development, or creative freedom.
At Foresight Mobile, we specialise in crafting beautiful, high-performance applications that feel right at home on any OS. Don't let your user experience be shattered by the iOS 26 update.
To learn more about how we can help you navigate the transition to the Liquid Glass era, visit us at the Foresight Mobile website.
