Honor Previews MagicOS 11 Running Android 17 With New Liquid Glass Design And Launches Closed Beta Phase
Honor has offered the first glimpse at its future mobile software, MagicOS 11, with it running the unreleased Android 17 operating system. It’s almost entirely centered around an overhauled design interface, what the company calls Liquid Glass. From video previews provided by Honor, it appears the UI aesthetic adopts semi transparent layers and physical light simulation to lend the OS a feeling of depth.
The new design is applied across the entire OS in interactive buttons, toggles for settings, pop up screens, and dropdown menus. To replicate the visual signature of physical glass, simulated light reflections, depth maps, and light refraction are used to enhance the interfaces realism. This interface is also characterized by fluid animations that imitate motion beneath glass and draws artistic inspiration from the translucent elements present in the likes of iOS 26.
Alongside this design update, Honor has launched a closed beta testing phase of MagicOS 11 to its smartphone user base in China. Phone owners will have the opportunity to sign up to test out this future OS by downloading the My Honor app, though the recruitment period will not remain open for very long. It will come with the familiar disclaimer that this early build is primarily for development use and that some operational risks should be expected.
Users that opt into the MagicOS 11 closed beta will need to brace themselves for a variety of system behaviors. Issues in this beta include software glitches, general system instability, and increased battery drain. In light of these concerns, Honor has encouraged all testers to avoid installing this test firmware onto a primary device as it continues to improve the Liquid Glass look for its public release.
