Against the background of controversy surrounding readability, Apple's new interface design "Liquid Glass" launched in iOS 26 recently won the important Gold Cube award at the 2026 Art Directors Club of New York (ADC) Awards, becoming the biggest highlight among Apple's six award-winning works this year. Despite strong criticism of the design's legibility on Macs, iPhones, and iPads, industry reviewers still gave it high praise.
Since the launch of "Liquid Glass", discussions have continued around the transparency, layering and text contrast of the interface. Some users believe that the visual effects are eye-catching, but at the expense of comfort during long-term reading. It is reported that Apple is expected to show a new and improved version at WWDC 2026, "tuning" the current design rather than completely overturning it. However, just before the revision arrives, this first version has already added another Golden Cube trophy to Apple.
The ADC judging panel, which consists of 13 judges, has not yet released detailed comments and is not expected to provide more information until the official awards ceremony on May 15. However, the entry statement submitted by Apple’s internal design team to the organizing committee revealed the core goals of this design language. Apple said in its statement that iOS 26 was built as a "holistic reimagining of how software looks, feels, and works." Through simplicity, clarity, and efficiency, it established a unified design language that can be extended from the smallest elements to the entire system structure.
Apple emphasizes that in this system, polished typography, expressive icon design, considered materials, and consistent colors create a coherent experience across all interfaces of the system. At the same time, the parallax effect driven by device sensors introduces a new physical dimension to the interface, making the virtual interface visually closer to the real world, in order to bring a more "humanized" interactive experience.
The Golden Cube is the second highest honor in the ADC system after the Black Cube. In this selection, Apple won a total of six Golden Cube trophies, including the interaction/user experience/user interface award for "Liquid Glass" this time. The other five winning projects were: the Apple TV rebranding project won in the photography and motion logo categories, the "Someday" campaign won in the directing category, and the "I'm Not Remarkable" project won in the music and sound use and online video categories.
In its submission for "I'm Not Remarkable," Apple said the program was designed to demonstrate that students with disabilities are no different than other students and to demonstrate Apple's continued commitment to accessibility. Judging from the distribution of awards, Apple continues to maintain strong performance in interface design, brand imaging and advertising creativity this year.
Judging from historical performance, Apple and its advertising agency TBWAMedia have always performed well in the ADC awards. This year's six Golden Cube results are the same as in 2019, when Apple won the same number of Golden Cube awards for its "Welcome Home" short film. In 2018 and 2020, Apple won the ADC "Black Cube" award for best work, becoming its highlight moment in the award system.
The 2018 Black Cube award went to a one-minute ad called "Barbers" for the iPhone 7 Plus. In 2020, Apple once again won the Black Cube with its "Bounce" advertisement. This two-minute work features a man wearing AirPods and walking to work. It uses visuals and rhythm to show how the product is integrated into daily life.
This awards event "Creative Week" will finally end with a ceremony called "The One Show". As scheduled, the 2026 awards ceremony will be held on May 15 at Cipriani on Wall Street in New York, with writer and comedian Leslie Jones as host.