Android users might not be able to laugh about Apple’s divisive Liquid Glass redesign for much longer. According to internal builds seen by 9to5Google, Android 17 may be factoring a lot more blur into the equation.
Specifically, it looks like Google is switching the backdrop on some menus from solid light or dark backgrounds to—you guessed it—see-through ones, allowing you to see part of the content behind the menu. If you’re reading that and thinking, “Golly, that sounds a lot like iOS 26’s Liquid Glass redesign,” that’s because it does. Also, props for using “golly,” that was very brave of you—internal monologue or not.
This design shift may affect quite a few elements in Android 17, including aspects of the UI like the volume bar, in particular the “pill-shaped container that houses the slider,” according to 9to5Google, as well as the mode switcher.
On the homescreen, 9to5Google says you’ll be able to see wallpaper and apps in the background behind menus, and in the case of other system elements, like the volume panel and power menu, users will apparently also get a dose of blur with semi-transparent backdrops. 9to5Google also reports that the blur will be determined in part by users’ Dynamic Color theme, which sets UI color shades. It’s apparently unknown how much apps will be affected by the change, if at all.
Overall, the design shift sounds like a much smaller visual leap compared to Apple’s jump from iOS 18 to iOS 26, but it’s clear that Apple’s Liquid Glass language has rubbed off on competitors. If you’re a fan of Liquid Glass, I guess you can start jumping for potential joy, but if you’re a fan of legibility, this might not be the best rumor in the Android mill.
As much as Liquid Glass has been an interesting and distinct visual departure from previous iOS iterations, it’s clear (no pun intended) that Apple may have underestimated just how disruptive semi-transparent elements can be inside a UI—turns out it’s kind of, sort of, important to be able to see stuff if you’re to use software properly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but seeing is in the eye of the, well, eye, and there’s no denying that Liquid Glass makes seeing stuff on your screen harder.
Again, 9to5Google suggests that the Android 17 visual overhaul isn’t as drastic as previous shifts, so you don’t have to go out and buy glasses preemptively, but you may want to brace for a little more squinting. The good news is, if the visual tweak is as illegible as Liquid Glass was at first, you can look forward to several incremental updates that basically roll the whole thing back. For now, we’ll just have to wait to see (or not see) if Android takes the Liquid Glass bait.
