March 25, 2026
Liquid Glass, Solid Rage
Apple Just Lost Me
Fans say Apple went from wow to “why” — age checks, ugly vibes, and lock-ins spark exodus
TLDR: A veteran Apple fan vows to leave after age checks via credit card locked them out, plus frustration with Apple’s controls and a controversial new Mac look. Comments explode: parents threaten Android migrations, critics say Apple lost its soul, while a tiny minority defends the new design.
Longtime Apple diehards are slamming the eject button after one veteran dev said “Apple just lost me” — and the comments are a wildfire. The big spark: UK age checks now ask for a credit card, and when it fails, adults get locked out like kids. One dad says his 22-year-old, who has a passport but no card, suddenly has a “kids phone.” Cue threats to roll the whole family to Pixels and Linux by the weekend. The crowd’s angriest chorus? Apple’s control. Devs gripe that even properly signed apps still trigger scary warnings if they’re not from the official store. That “walled garden” (Apple’s tightly controlled app world) feels more like a locked gate, and folks are tired of asking permission to use their own computers. Then there’s macOS 26’s new “Liquid Glass” look, described as “ugly,” “broken,” and “a case study in how to torch a reputation.” Some say Apple swapped vision for quarterly profits; others claim this is the moment even casual users noticed. But there’s drama: one brave soul actually loves Liquid Glass, asking if they’re alone. Meanwhile, the OP’s buying a tiny MNT Pocket Reform laptop and plotting an Android escape. The mood? Betrayed, bittersweet, and very, very loud.
Key Points
- •The author plans to migrate personal computing from Apple devices to Linux and Android, keeping a Mac only for work.
- •They report macOS app distribution friction: even notarized apps prompt users with a confirmation dialog when installed outside the App Store.
- •They claim macOS 26’s “Liquid Glass” design causes UI issues (overlapping and clipping) in AppKit and SwiftUI apps and remains inconsistent across updates.
- •On their iPhone, an age-verification process described as required by UK laws asked for credit-card checks via Apple Wallet or manual entry, which failed and locked features.
- •They purchased an MNT Pocket Reform device to support their transition away from Apple’s ecosystem.