What has changed for the navigation bar in iOS 26.

Asked on 2025-09-04

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In iOS 26, navigation bars have undergone several changes as part of the new design system. Here are the key updates:

  1. Glass Appearance: Navigation bars now adopt a new glass appearance, floating above the content. This design gives a more modern and dynamic look to the navigation bars.

  2. Visual Grouping: When you specify toolbar or navigation bar button items, the system automatically separates them into visual groups. Each group shares a glass background by default, enhancing the visual coherence of the UI.

  3. Subtitle API: A new Subtitle API has been introduced, allowing for more control over the title and subtitle areas in the navigation bar. This includes the ability to render a subtitle below the title, providing additional context or information.

  4. Transparency: The bar background is now transparent by default. This means any background customization using UIBarAppearance or background color should be removed to avoid interfering with the glass appearance.

  5. Large Titles: Large titles are now placed at the top of the content scroll view and scroll with the content underneath the bar. To keep the large title visible, the scroll view should be extended fully under the navigation bar.

For more details, you can refer to the session Build a UIKit app with the new design (07:19).

Build a UIKit app with the new design

Build a UIKit app with the new design

Update your UIKit app to take full advantage of the new design system. We’ll dive into key changes to tab views, split views, bars, presentations, search, and controls, and show you how to use Liquid Glass in your custom UI. To get the most out of this video, we recommend first watching “Get to know the new design system” for general design guidance.

What’s new in UIKit

What’s new in UIKit

Modernize your app with the latest APIs in UIKit, including enhanced menu bar support, automatic observation tracking, a new UI update method, and improvements to animations. We’ll also cover how you can include SwiftUI scenes in your UIKit app and explore SF Symbols, HDR color pickers, and more.

Build a SwiftUI app with the new design

Build a SwiftUI app with the new design

Explore the ways Liquid Glass transforms the look and feel of your app. Discover how this stunning new material enhances toolbars, controls, and app structures across platforms, providing delightful interactions and seamlessly integrating your app with the system. Learn how to adopt new APIs that can help you make the most of Liquid Glass.