Setting Tint Color for Prominent Style UIBarButtonItems at App Level in iOS26

UI Frameworks UIKit
Mohammed Idhiris
Mohammed Idhiris OP
Created Jul ’25
Replies 10
Boosts 0
Views 276
Participants 4

In iOS 26, with the introduction of the new prominent style buttons like system done, how to apply the tint color for these buttons in globally at app level.

We are only able to set for individual buttons using barButtonItem.tintColor and need a way to apply globally.

We’ve tried:

UIBarButtonItem.appearance().tintColor
UIBarButtonItem.appearance(whenContainedInInstancesOf: [UINavigationController.self]).tintColor

but nothing worked.

sample code:

let doneButton = UIBarButtonItem(barButtonSystemItem: .done, target: nil, action: nil)
doneButton.tintColor = .systemPink

Is there a new recommended way to globally style UIBarButtonItem with the prominent style in iOS 26?

Replies  10
Boosts  0
Views  276
Participants  4
RickMaddy
RickMaddy OP
Jul ’25

iOS 26 has a lot of issues like this where it breaks how tinting works. Please file a bug report using the Feedback Assistant app. Apple needs to know that this needs to be fixed.

0
Apple Staff, DTS Engineer
DTS Engineer OP
Apple
Jul ’25

As RickMaddy said, we'd appreciate bug reports when you find issues like this. Feel free to post the FB number for the report about the appearance apprroxy APIs with UIBarButtonItem to this thread for the record.

— Ed Ford,  DTS Engineer

0
RickMaddy
RickMaddy OP
Jul ’25

@DTS Engineer I've filed the following reports related to various tinting issues since beta 1. None have been resolved yet as of beta 4:

FB17989300

FB17996063

FB18061370

FB18745302

I do hope these get resolved. Thanks.

1
RickMaddy
RickMaddy OP
Jul ’25

I missed another one I filed against beta 3:

FB18744580

All five of these are all different issues related to tinting/coloring bugs. All five of these affect my production app under iOS 26. None of these issues appear in iOS 18 (or earlier). All of these bug reports include a trivial sample app and instructions demonstrating the bugs.

1
Mohammed Idhiris
Mohammed Idhiris OP
Jul ’25

Kindly find the feedback filed for the above issue in FB18989881

1
RickMaddy
RickMaddy OP
2w

Another beta release and another round of disappointment. Not a single tint/color related issue was fixed in the beta 5. Two months of beta testing and Apple seems to want all of us to deliver purely black and white user interfaces. That or they are abandoning UIKit. I have a dozen open iOS 26 UIKit bugs. Many since beta 1. All include trivial sample apps that demonstrate the issue. And I’m talking about flat out broken behavior, not just things I wish were different. So frustrating.

0
HarrisRap
HarrisRap OP
2w

I have the same issue. And this code which used to work for tinting UIBarButtonItem doesn't work anymore either

UINavigationBar.appearance().tintColor = .blue

I've submitted feedback https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/19427253

0
HarrisRap
HarrisRap OP
6d

This is still not fixed in beta 6

0
HarrisRap
HarrisRap OP
4d

Looks to be fixed in beta 7 👍

0
HarrisRap
HarrisRap OP
4d

Nevermind, no it is not fixed in beta 7 😔

0
Setting Tint Color for Prominent Style UIBarButtonItems at App Level in iOS26
First post date Last post date
 
 
Q