Ionic Theme iOS26

A CSS/JS theme library that applies iOS26 design system to Ionic applications.

DEMO is here: https://ionic-theme-ios26.netlify.app/

Overview

This library provides CSS/JS files that bring the iOS26 design system to Ionic applications. It updates the look and feel of Ionic components to match the latest iOS26 design guidelines.

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Setup

This is a CSS theme for extending your Ionic project. It does not work on its own, so use it together with the Ionic Framework.

npm install @rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26

And import the theme in your project's main CSS file (e.g., src/styles.scss).

@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/default-variables.css';
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/ionic-theme-ios26.css';

/**
 * This file is to eliminate the impact of class name changes for iOS26.
 * For example, `ion-buttons ion-button[fill=default]` is not normally implemented, but may be required for iOS26.
 * This file is to eliminate such effects.
 */
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/md-remove-ios-class-effect.css';

/**
 * If you will use the design of ion-item-group with ion-list on Android as well, import it.
 * More info: https://github.com/rdlabo-team/ionic-theme-ios26/blob/main/USING_ION_ITEM_GROUP.md
 * @import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/md-ion-list-inset.css';
 */

/*
 * Support Dark Mode
 * We support Ionic Dark Mode. More information is here: https://ionicframework.com/docs/theming/dark-mode
 * use Always:    @import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/ionic-theme-ios26-dark-always.css'
 * use System:    @import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/ionic-theme-ios26-dark-system.css'
 * use CSS Class: @import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/ionic-theme-ios26-dark-class.css'
 */

Customization

CSS Variables

To customize the library's default styles to match your design, several CSS variables are provided. See this file for details: https://github.com/rdlabo-team/ionic-theme-ios26/blob/main/src/styles/default-variables.scss

Features

.ios26-disabled Class

Add the .ios26-disabled class to disable the iOS26 theme on specific components.

<!-- iOS26 theme applied -->
<ion-button>iOS26 Design</ion-button>

<!-- Standard Ionic iOS styling -->
<ion-button class="ios26-disabled">Standard Ionic Design</ion-button>

Liquid Glass Mixin

Import the SCSS files from the main package to use the liquid glass mixin.

@use '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/src/styles/utils/api.scss';

ion-textarea label.textarea-wrapper {
  @include api.glass-background;
}

Additional Design

To achieve higher fidelity to iOS26 design, you can implement additional design provided by this library. For more details, please visit:

https://ionic-theme-ios26.netlify.app/main/docs

Experimental: Animation

This feature is experimental. The library can be used without this feature.

Enter and Leave animation with ion-popover

Animations designed iOS 26 can be configured via IonicConfig.

import { popoverEnterAnimation, popoverLeaveAnimation } from '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26';

// Angular
provideIonicAngular({
  ...
  popoverEnter: popoverEnterAnimation,
  popoverLeave: popoverLeaveAnimation,
});

// React
setupIonicReact({
  ...
  popoverEnter: popoverEnterAnimation,
  popoverLeave: popoverLeaveAnimation,
});

// Vue
createApp(App)
  .use(IonicVue, {
    ...
    popoverEnter: popoverEnterAnimation,
    popoverLeave: popoverLeaveAnimation,
  })

Sheet of Glass with ion-tab-button / ion-segment-button

By registering ion-tab-bar / ion-segment, you can display animation effects on ion-tab-button / ion-segment-button

import { registerTabBarEffect, registerSegmentEffect } from '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26';

/**
 * Register DOM elements. Effects are applied using Ionic Gesture and Ionic Animation.
 */
const registeredTabBarEffect = registerTabBarEffect(document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('ion-tab-bar'));
const registeredSegmentEffect = registerSegmentEffect(document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('ion-segment'));

const destroy = () => {
  /**
   * If the registered DOM element is removed (e.g., due to page navigation),
   * make sure to destroy the gesture and animation. This will also remove the event listeners.
   * You can re-register them if needed.
   */
  registeredTabBarEffect?.destroy();
  registeredSegmentEffect?.destroy();
}

TabBarSearchable: Searchable with ion-tab-bar and ion-fab-button

Enable Searchable for the DOM structure with the specified markup inner ion-tabs.

<ion-content>...</ion-content>
<ion-fab vertical="bottom" horizontal="end" slot="fixed">
  <ion-fab-button (click)="present($event)">
    <ion-icon name="search"></ion-icon>
  </ion-fab-button>
</ion-fab>
<ion-footer [translucent]="true">
  <ion-toolbar>
    <ion-buttons slot="start">
      <!-- ion-icon name is set dynamically by the animation -->
      <ion-button fill="default"><ion-icon slot="icon-only"></ion-icon>
      </ion-button>
    </ion-buttons>
    <!-- User set `ionChange` or other events. -->
    <ion-searchbar (ionChange)="example($event)"></ion-searchbar>
  </ion-toolbar>
</ion-footer>

import { attachTabBarSearchable, TabBarSearchableFunction, TabBarSearchableType } from '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26';

let searchableFun: TabBarSearchableFunction | undefined;
const initialize = () => {
  // attachTabBarSearchable has state. You should initialize per page.
  searchableFun = attachTabBarSearchable(
    document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('ion-tab-bar'),
    document.querySelector('ion-fab-button'),
    document.querySelector('ion-footer'),
  );
}

const present = (event: Event) => {
  searchableFun!(event, TabBarSearchableType.Enter);
}

const dismiss = (event: Event) => {
  searchableFun!(event, TabBarSearchableType.Leave);
}

Important Notes

Using ion-item-group

Under specific conditions, you need to use ion-item-group.

  <ion-list inset=true>
    <ion-list-header><ion-label>Label</ion-label></ion-list-header>
+   <ion-item-group>
      <ion-item>...</ion-item>
      <ion-item>...</ion-item>
+   </ion-item-group>
  </ion-list>

For details, please refer to USING_ION_ITEM_GROUP.md.

Make ion-back-button Smoother

When the following conditions are met, the Ionic Framework programmatically generates and animates the ion-back-button:

• The previous page uses ion-header[collapse='condense']
• The navigated page has ion-buttons ion-back-button

This is not the iOS26 UI behavior. Therefore, we hide the animation by default using visibility: hidden;. However, there is still a problem where the original ion-back-button disappears at the start and end of the animation. For a smoother experience, you can avoid placing ion-back-button inside ion-buttons:

  <ion-header>
-   <ion-buttons slot="start">
-   <ion-back-button></ion-back-button>
-   </ion-buttons>
+   <ion-back-button slot="start"></ion-back-button>
  </ion-header>

You can see the difference in the following video. The first example shows ion-back-button placed outside of ion-buttons, and the second shows the default behavior:

This is a known issue that has been shared with the Ionic team. We will update this library accordingly once Ionic Core addresses it.

Migration Support

For gradual migration, you can selectively apply the iOS26 theme by importing individual components instead of the full theme file.

@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/utils/translucent';
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/components/ion-action-sheet';
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/components/ion-alert';
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/components/ion-breadcrumbs';
@import '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/dist/css/components/ion-button';
...

Dark Mode with Individual Components

When importing individual components with dark mode support, use SCSS instead of CSS. This is because the selectors differ between Always, System, and Class modes.

Note: Currently, only ion-button has separate dark mode styling applied.

Always (Always Dark Mode):

@use '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/src/styles/utils/theme-dark';

:root {
    @include theme-dark.default-variables;
}
@include theme-dark.ion-button;
@include theme-dark.ion-fab;
@include theme-dark.ion-tabs;
@include theme-dark.ion-segment;

System (Follow System Settings):

@use '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/src/styles/utils/theme-dark';

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
    :root {
        @include theme-dark.default-variables;
    }
    @include theme-dark.ion-button;
    @include theme-dark.ion-fab;
    @include theme-dark.ion-tabs;
    @include theme-dark.ion-segment;
}

Class (Toggle with CSS Class):

@use '@rdlabo/ionic-theme-ios26/src/styles/utils/theme-dark';

.ion-palette-dark {
    @include theme-dark.default-variables;
    @include theme-dark.ion-button;
    @include theme-dark.ion-fab;
    @include theme-dark.ion-tabs;
    @include theme-dark.ion-segment;
}

Development & Testing

Demo Application

The demo/ directory contains an Angular application for testing and demonstrating the theme. To run the demo:

cd demo
npm install
npm start

Visual Regression Testing

We use Playwright for visual regression testing to ensure consistent styling across all components. The test suite automatically captures screenshots of all routes in both light and dark modes.

Running Tests

cd demo

# Run all E2E tests
npm run test:e2e

# Run tests in UI mode (interactive)
npm run test:e2e:ui

# Debug tests
npm run test:e2e:debug

# Update baseline screenshots (when intentionally changing UI)
npm run test:e2e:update