"She's a morpharotic dream from a magazine."
I apologize if you missed the reference to this week's newsletter title. I set up the perfect joke referencing O-Town, a boyband concocted by the magic of reality TV and a few creepy executives, on Threads the other day, and only a few of you got it—a small, tiny handful. My millennial references aren't hitting like they used to. Chat, does this mean I'm getting old?
This week was all about Apple's "Liquid Dreams"—sorry, Liquid Glass. The company debuted the new look of iOS 26 at its annual developer conference, hosted this week at the spaceship campus in Cupertino. As part of the opening keynote showcase, Apple debuted a new design paradigm named for the glass-like effect exhibited across varying elements of the mobile interface. The Mac is eventually adopting this look, too, so it's headed for the ecosystem as a whole. Your Mac and iPhone will look like Windows Vista later this year.
Apple said it designed Liquid Glass intending to combine "optical qualities of glass with a fluidity only Apple can achieve." The word "fluidity" was also mentioned at Google I/O last month. Interestingly, both Apple and Google have adopted this terminology and the concept through their respective interfaces despite entirely disparate approaches.
I noticed a ton of excitement throughout social media about where iOS is heading, particularly since Fruitger Aero is getting a nostalgic third wind among Gen Z. I don't recall the same fanfare when Mateiral 3 Expressive debuted and I think I know why. Material 3 Expressive is more of an enhancement of guidelines Google has long had in place. If anything, it feels like we've been waiting for the final build of something that's been in construction forever.
I was experimenting with Android 16's new Lock Screen combinations last night. While I see what it's going for, it feels like déjà vu after spending some time making Lock Screens with iOS 16/17. The ability feels like catch-up. I'm glad that Google isn't going full glasshole with its aesthetics, but there's got to be something a little more exciting than, uh, live tracking in the notification shade.
Huyen is back this week with Jason and Ron to talk Android 16, the OnePlus Pad 3, and Samsung's "ultra" foldable. Plus, Ron got his hands on the Clicks keyboard for the Pixel 9 Pro and Jason unboxes the RayNeo Air 3x AR glasses.
