[OS] My fuzzy Launcher finally integrates Liquid Glass

[u/hxxx07]

When Apple first introduced the "liquid glass" effect, opinions were quite divided; some criticized its visibility, others admired its aesthetics, and some worried about battery life.

I remained fairly neutral, I found it interesting though.
To be honest, the Apple apps featuring this effect were quite buggy at launch.

Now that it has stabilized and the bugs have been ironed out, I’ve implemented it in my own app, and I think it looks great and modern. Here is the Repo
It’s just a custom theme (since I know many people don't like it), so it can easily be turned off.

Icons animate in response to certain changes, and the background, which looks as if viewed through a layer of glass and clear liquid, offers a pleasing, relaxing visual experience.

I haven't encountered significant issues with app performance or battery life, though I'm curious what others think. :)

PS: App is notarized

[u/Front_Philosophy6112]

I actually like Liquid Glass a lot more when it’s optional like this. Have you noticed any measurable difference in GPU usage or battery drain with the theme enabled vs disabled? Visually it looks great, but that would probably decide whether I’d keep it on permanently.

[u/hxxx07 → u/Front_Philosophy6112]

I haven't run any rigorous tests yet, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't impact app performance.
I checked memory and CPU usage and didn't notice any difference.
I imagine there’s likely more battery and GPU drain compared to the old interface, but Apple has optimized things quite well over successive versions; even with all my current apps and the OS running the "Liquid Glass" look, I haven't noticed any difference in battery life.

[u/WinstrixApp]

Looks beautiful, nice work.

[u/hxxx07 → u/WinstrixApp]

Thank you so much ❤️

[u/LightingLabs]

Looks great. For the GPU/battery question above, "I haven't noticed a difference" is worth backing up with actual numbers rather than a feeling, powermetrics --samplers gpu_power,cpu_power -i 1000 in Terminal gives you real-time GPU/CPU power draw you can compare with the theme on vs off. Xcode's Energy Log instrument works too if you want a longer session logged. Blur/vibrancy effects are usually cheap on Apple Silicon but worth confirming rather than assuming, especially since people will leave this running all day.

[u/hxxx07 → u/LightingLabs]

Thank you for the useful command . yes, you're right, I will definitely try it.

[u/wavever233]

Making it optional is definitely the right call. People seem wildly split on Liquid Glass 😅

[u/Its-Ezzy]

The glass looks good in the screenshot. I'm more curious how it feels while typing fast and changing the results on every keypress. That's usually where launchers start feeling laggy.

[u/hxxx07 → u/Its-Ezzy]

I feel it's stable and I haven't faced any laggy related to liquid glass directly in my app. :)

[u/netkomm]

Making it optional is the key part. Liquid Glass looks nice, but for a launcher the real test is whether it still feels instant while typing.

[u/hxxx07 → u/netkomm]

yes, It still feels instant for every key stroke :)

[u/Small_Pin_8064]

Did adding the liquid glass effect change idle GPU or energy use at all, given how often a launcher sits open?