Apple’s Liquid Glass design language is controversial to say the least. But it wasn’t just the glass-themed elements that came under fire. One macOS 26 Tahoe icon in particular came under fire, and Apple changed the Macintosh HD icon in response.
But macOS 26’s overall iconography has been described as “terrible” and “objectively bad,” with some suggesting the problem runs deeper than this…
Macintosh HD icon
The original Macintosh HD icon has been outdated for many years. Long after Apple switched to chip-based SSDs, spinning metal hard drives were very clearly depicted.
It wasn’t until this year that the company finally reflected this with a new icon depicting an SSD. However, this was criticized on various fronts. Some people complained that external SSDs were depicted that looked nothing like internal SSDs. Some people dislike the off-center USB-C slot and random holes. Additionally, some have pointed out that the Apple logo does not reflect the three-dimensional orientation of the icon.
The company responded with a new version that features a more aligned Apple logo and removes both the USB-C slot and hole.
macOS 26 Tahoe’s icons are “terrible” and “objectively bad”
But some critics feel the problem runs deeper than this, with many of the icons in macOS 26 Tahoe missing.
Basic Apple Guy highlighted the utility app icon. Rather than each having a distinctive look, they are all small variations of the same design. This makes it difficult to understand each function at a glance, and one of the icons’ jobs is to “see at a glance.”
bold fireball John Gruber didn’t mince words when commenting on this.
Apple’s app icons this year are objectively decidedly worse (…) They all look like placeholder icons created by developers who are the first to admit that they’re not artists (…) These new icons all use the same “wrench” motif, which is a lazy and restrictive concept to begin with (but it’s even worse). Perhaps 10 percent of the icon’s real estate is an area where the app could display something identifying its purpose. So the whole concept of these icons sucks. But the conceptual execution is also terrible.
Paul Kafasis goes on to describe basically every new icon as “terrible.” He breaks them down one by one in a blog post, describing various examples as “terrible,” “staggering,” “bland,” “lifeless,” “amateurish,” “dying,” “soulless,” and “like kindergarten classroom art.”
That was before he started drawing calendar icons representing 24-day months…
what is your opinion?
What do you think about this controversy? Do you think the new Mac icons are better, worse, or just different?
Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments.
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Image: 9to5Mac/Paul Kafasis/Apple/Thomas Lefebvre on Unsplash
