Liquid Glass on Android Hopes Crushed

Alongside the tease of the upcoming “The Android Show: I/O Edition,” plenty of folks noticed that the short video showed the Android mascot switching from its normal green self into a clearer, glass-like vibe as it pulled a light string to dance between dark and light modes. Was this a hint at an upcoming UI design change to something closer to the style of Apple’s Liquid Glass?

As it turns out, the answer to that is “Not happening!” That’s according to Android boss Sameer Samat, who replied on Twitter to a user who created a mock-up of a Pixel 11 running a skin with Liquid Glass.

Samat also joked, “Ya’ll are wild,” hopefully putting to bed the idea that Google is about to entertain a glass design for Android.

Would it be the worst thing if Google did jump on this Apple idea of a glass-like design? Yeah, it would be a bad look. Android has spent years trying to separate itself from being an iPhone-copycat, even if the real ones know that for longer than I can remember, it has been Apple that copies almost every idea from the Android ecosystem and then sells it as its own or an improved version of someone else’s idea.

Also, Google only gave us Material 3 Expressive last year – it’s very much still a new thing! Google is still improving Material 3 Expressive and likely has big plans for even bigger changes with the launch of Android 17. They are likely hinting at those changes with this teaser, rather than a switch to glass.

Google could make things more transparent and is expected to add more blur to UI elements, sort of like we saw in that early release this week of the Gemini app’s redesign on iOS. Google is clearly increasing transparency, but they are sticking to Material design ideas while adding color and glow, rather than glass.

Not that Apple’s Liquid Glass is the worst look I’ve seen on a phone’s software skin, but Android does not need to go that route. Material 3 Expressive should continue to be the future.