Apple’s UI Trend Liquid Glass Comes to Figma: No More Plugins Needed

Apple recently unveiled Liquid Glass, its new visual design language rolling out across iOS 26, macOS 26 (Tahoe), iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. With glass-like transparency, real-time refraction, edge highlights, and dynamic fluidity, Liquid Glass marks Apple's most expressive UI shift since iOS 7.

Before Figma's announcement, designers turned to community plugins—most notably the Liquid Glass Plugin, created by Square One and Dylan de Heer, now used by over 1.8k users. Tutorials like “How to Create Apple's Liquid Glass UI in Figma” from Studio Shephrd and countless YouTube clips flooded the design space.

On Reddit, r/FigmaDesign users have been experimenting:

Set effects: Background blur, texture, inner shadow...
…
cerebralvision: “Lol apple just announced it today too…”

But replicating not just static blur, shadows, and opacity—but Apple's groundbreaking dynamic light refractions and tactile distortions—proved impossible using standard Figma tools. As one designer put it:

“Apple’s new liquid glass includes around 4 layers… 2 are replicable, 2 are actually impossible.”

🎨 What Apple & Figma Are Doing: Breaking It Down

1. Apple’s Ambitious Leap

• Liquid Glass is a dynamic material, dynamically adapting visuals like reflections, depth, refraction, and highlights based on real-world glass optics .

• It signals innovation—refreshed UI, refreshed brand identity, even if underlying hardware/AI did not ship yet.

2. The Community Workaround

• The Liquid Glass Plugin from Square One + Dylan de Heer gives creators a starting point.

• Tutorials guide you through multi-layered effects, but complexity and performance limitations persist.

• Designers report that basic blur + shadow is easy, but true refraction and edge highlights—the soul of Liquid Glass—are opaque to Figma.

3. Figma Step Up: Native Support Incoming

• Figma acknowledged the demand, hinting native support for Liquid Glass might arrive within ~6 months.

🧭 Where Figma's Feature Fits In

StageWhat You Can Do NowWhat Native Support Will EnablePrototypesUse plugins & layered effects → slow & heavyOne-click Liquid Glass components—lighter and dynamicAccessibilityTweak contrast, blur, shadow manuallyBuilt-in compliance features, color-safe UI presetsInnovationCopy Apple’s visuals manuallyBuild fluid, context-aware interfaces with ease

✅ Recommended Workflow

1. Prototype Now
   Install the Liquid Glass Plugin (1.8k+ users). Use blur, opacity, texture, and shadows to approximate the look. Ideal for high-fidelity mockups.

2. Stay Light
   Community templates exist that use fewer layers and optimize performance. Use them instead of overloading with 15+ layers.

3. Prep for Native Figma Transition
   As Figma rolls this out, plan to move to native components: faster, more consistent, and more accessible.

4. Follow Official Channels
   Watch for Figma’s release notes and community announcements. WWDC-inspired changes might arrive soon.

🚀 What It Means for Designers

Figma's upcoming native Liquid Glass support promises to:

• Empower design teams: Easier to prototype next-gen UI without performance penalties.

• Boost design consistency: Shared assets and components foster team-wide usage.

• Enhance accessibility: Built-in contrast, blur, and perceptive aids improve usability.

• Fuel creativity: Move from hacks to dynamic, interactive, glassy interface creation.

Final Thoughts

Apple’s Liquid Glass sets a bold new bar for visual design—pushing the boundaries of depth, fluidity, and realism. The Figma community swiftly responded with plugins and tutorials to keep prototypes relevant. Now, Figma is about to close the gap with native support, transforming Liquid Glass from a hacky effect into a polished, accessible, collaborative design standard. Designers: get ready to embrace the future.

Are you already experimenting with Liquid Glass in your own work—or eagerly waiting for Figma's built-in support? I'd love to hear your story!