Apple has used translucent design elements for decades, starting with the Aqua interface in early Mac OS X to the frosted sidebars of macOS Sonoma and the deep physical spaces of visionOS. Examining Apple's design evolution offers valuable lessons for web developers.
Apple's Accessibility Focus
To keep frosted glass readable, Apple's design systems include two key accessibility settings:
- Dynamic Contrast Adjustments: The system automatically raises the opacity of transparent panels when high contrast mode is enabled.
- System-wide Fallbacks: A toggle to disable transparency globally, swapping out translucent elements for solid, high-contrast backgrounds.
Supporting similar options in your web apps ensures your designs remain usable for everyone.