- Microsoft compared the liquid glass with Windows Vista on its Instagram account
- It is quite late at the party when drawing this type of comparison.
- Of course, if someone has the right to do it, it is Microsoft, which brought transparency with the aerodynamic effect on the view desk
Microsoft has joined the multitude of those who have been mocking the new Apple liquid glass interface for Tahoe 26 (and iOS 26 or other platforms such as iPados 26).
On his Instagram account yesterday, as marked by Windows Last, Microsoft published a collection of screen captures of Windows Vista. This came complete with nostalgic sound effects (the timbre to start to the desk) from the day (2007), with a single simple sentence: “I will only leave this here.”
In case you have lost it, Apple has captured a large volley of criticism so it is perceived how to make it look like the liquid glass has reinvented the idea of transparency, a vitreous and transparent interface, when Microsoft did this in … yes, you have guessed it: Windows Vista.
In Windows Vista, this effect was called Aero (and later, Aero also reached Windows 7), and as you can see in the anterior Instagram assembly, these are translucent windows, which allows you to see the background through them.
Microsoft is late for the party here, really, and in that sense, the company looks a little silly. Everyone has made their opinion on how liquid glass is seen (or Windows 7), how Apple are imitators, etc., so Microsoft is running the risk of inducing some yawns here.
But still, Microsoft invented Aero with these venerable desk operating systems many It makes translucent moons, so in a way, more than anyone else, the software giant has the right to make fun of Tahoe Macs 26 here.
Analysis: Fun but not fair?
Then, given the hail of critical bullets trying to break Apple’s liquid glass, including Microsoft’s latest Potshot, it is worth considering a key question. Is it really fair level accusations in the Mac and Idevice manufacturer for being so little original and outdated with your innovation of the user interface here?
I don’t think it is. Even so, Apple must have known that it would face this type of violent reaction, even if it is a fairly ironic matter (mainly). And for Microsoft, it is an obvious opportunity to bring one or two plugs to a rival, which, let’s admit it, cannot be lost. However, I am not sure why Microsoft took to move with its publication.
Whatever the case, one thing is obvious: liquid glass is not equal to the aerodynamic effect of view (and I barely believe that Microsoft suggests that, of course). Yes, there are clear visual parallels, but what Macos Tahoe 26 is doing is very different from Windows Vista or 7.
To start, the reason why nobody liked Aero in Windows Vista was because the environment of the operating system was slowed more, nobody wanted to delay when dragging windows around the desk, as expected. (Windows 7 was better here, of course).
Contemporary hardware is not only mature for a much better implementation of transparent interface elements now, so everything will be properly receptive, but Apple’s liquid glass seems to be far more sophisticated in nature. It seems that there are a lot of careful elaboration here, with nuances in the way the light passes through the ‘glass’ and interacts with the interface behind.
Okay, it is still too early to say exactly how it will work, but Aero is not, that is safe. Others have told me that the PakGazette equipment that has seen the interface in action that looks much better in the use of the real world of what screenshots can transmit.
Even so, concerns remain, no doubt. The most obvious potential spine is diminished accessibility and the potential lack of clarity that these elegant and transparent effects could cause. What we do not want is a confused look where the user can have difficulty reading basic text or kissing the icons in the foreground.
Time will say about these concerns, but Apple seems to have thought about this whole plan and a general philosophy through quite fully, since this is not only a mere renewal of the interface, but a unification of the wholesale cross platform for macOS, iOS and all the rest of the company’s operating systems.
Until now, liquid glass looks quite slippery, it seems that the function is as important as the form, and yes, it seems that Windows seen too. But well, what did you expect Apple to do with all eyes in its great WWDC 25 interface reveals? Do you recognize Microsoft as the precursor of glass transparency in the field of desktop operating systems?
