With Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference just days away, anticipation is growing around the rumored redesign of iOS. Now, a new concept shared by designer Sebastiaan de With is offering what might be the most exciting glimpse yet of what’s to come in iOS 26.
De With, co-founder of Lux and a former Apple designer, has unveiled a detailed preview of what he calls the “Living Glass” interface. His concept draws from various reports and subtle design hints seen in previous iOS versions and imagines an interface that feels deeply integrated with the hardware’s materials.
The idea behind Living Glass is simple but ambitious: to make the software feel as physical and alive as the devices themselves. De With describes it as an interface that echoes the look and feel of the actual glass on iPhones, making the screen appear to respond like a living surface. In his words, it’s about giving the glass a soul.
This concept isn’t just guesswork. It builds on ongoing reports, including those by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has suggested that Apple is moving toward a more “glassy” look in iOS 26—possibly inspired by visionOS, the operating system behind Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
De With’s preview also reflects on the history of iPhone design, pointing out how software and hardware have often evolved side by side. With devices now dominated by edge-to-edge glass, it seems fitting for the interface to finally match that aesthetic more fully.
We’ll know more once Apple officially announces iOS 26 at WWDC on Monday, but if Living Glass is any indication, a more immersive and tactile experience could be just around the corner.
