![\"Up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Up")
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Stephen Headrick \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
If I wanted Liquid Glass, I\u2019d buy an iPhone<\/a>. It doesn\u2019t belong on Android. And yet, I\u2019m seeing more and more of Apple\u2019s design language \u2014 or half-baked versions of it \u2014 pop up in apps on my Google Pixel.<\/p>\n Android has long been known for its customization options. For that reason, I don\u2019t mind some of the third-party launchers that have added Liquid Glass-like design packs. For me, the issue is not about a third-party developer giving the user the option; to the contrary, the issue is when an app developer chooses Apple\u2019s design language over Google\u2019s Material 3 Expressive<\/a> as the default, leading to an experience that feels foreign.<\/p>\n Have you noticed Liquid Glass design in apps you use on Android?<\/p>\n 141 votes<\/p>\n Yes<\/p>\n 47%<\/p>\n No<\/p>\n 50%<\/p>\n I don’t really pay attention to design.<\/p>\n 4%<\/p>\n There are levels to this<\/p>\n Stephen Headrick \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Some apps are leaning on Liquid Glass<\/a> more than others. The most recent and blatant implementation I\u2019ve seen is in popular note-taking app Obsidian<\/a>. This app was recently updated and the UI screams iOS. The circular floating buttons at the top right and left of each screen, the floating bar at the bottom, the lack of color \u2014 it\u2019s all straight from iOS. To give credit where it\u2019s due, I will admit that the app feels native and snappy to use, but I would appreciate even just a little effort to make the experience more fit for Android.<\/p>\n In Obsidian\u2019s case, even just a couple of small changes would go a long way. For one, to differentiate from Apple\u2019s design standards, I\u2019d start by changing the two floating buttons at the top of the screen. Taking some inspiration from Google\u2019s Screenshots app, I\u2019d change the buttons\u2019 shape to more of a squished circle, with a narrower top and bottom and longer sides. I\u2019d also remove the shadows from underneath the circle and leave them flat, as you commonly see with these buttons on Android.<\/p>\n Stephen Headrick \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Google\u2019s design language<\/a> does a great job at incorporating colors of your choice throughout the UI, and app developers can also take advantage of this. With Obsidian, I would love to see the option to apply my device\u2019s Material You color system to the app\u2019s UI. Those buttons could use the same color theming I see in other apps that properly implement this, such as Gmail and Google Messages. I tend to change my device\u2019s color system once a month \u2014 usually correlating to a season like summer or fall or to that month\u2019s biggest holiday \u2014 and I love seeing those colors throughout the apps I use. Material You<\/a>, when implemented properly, does a great job using these colors as accents and in the right places so that it\u2019s pleasant and not overwhelming to look at.<\/p>\n I see elements of Liquid Glass and a proprietary design system, mixed into one hodgepodge of an app.<\/p>\n Telegram<\/a> is another hugely popular app that can\u2019t decide if it wants to use Liquid Glass or something else that is definitely not Material design. It recently released an overhauled design of its Android app that, at first glance, looks like a watered-down version of the iOS version, but upon deeper inspection, it gets even worse. Personal chats still have Telegram\u2019s old design at the top of the screen, while the top bar in channels \u2014 Telegram\u2019s one-to-many broadcast option \u2014 now seemingly resembles iOS design language.<\/p>\n Stephen Headrick \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Telegram is usually a design-forward company, with beautiful animations and a well-designed user experience, and while the animations are still top-notch, this mixture of Liquid Glass and other design choices is a bit disappointing to me. If a company wants to create its own design system, that\u2019s fine. In that case, you don\u2019t have to use Apple or Google\u2019s systems. With Telegram on Android<\/a>, we\u2019re not seeing either of those options, but rather a mix of the two. I see elements of Liquid Glass and a proprietary design system, mixed into one hodgepodge of an app. The app works, but the experience is distinctly not Android.<\/p>\n Have it your way, but go all-in<\/p>\n Stephen Headrick \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n As I alluded to, I\u2019m alright with a company designing its own UI. This can help a company keep its brand identity uniform across all the platforms it operates on. A good example of this is Robinhood<\/a>. You won\u2019t find any bits of Liquid Glass or Material 3 Expressive in its apps, but you will see a consistent design system that you can count on from Robinhood, no matter where you\u2019re accessing it from.<\/p>\n I feel like I’m using a wanna-be iPhone app on my Android phone.<\/p>\n Usually, developing a custom design system like Robinhood\u2019s requires a lot of resources, which is why many developers choose to use components provided in a platform\u2019s native tooling. In the case of Telegram, although it\u2019s not a small developer by any means, it still chose to use some native tooling, but it\u2019s completely lacking in consistency on Android. I feel like I\u2019m using a wanna-be iPhone app on my Android phone. Meanwhile, its iPhone app was quickly updated to adhere to Liquid Glass guidelines and animations.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n I get it, these apps are businesses, businesses like to save money where they can, and using only one design across multiple platforms is definitely a cost-cutter. All I\u2019m asking for is a little more love for the Android side. When Google announced Material 3 Expressive<\/a>, it showed off some extremely bold ideas for what apps might look like with the evolved design language. We\u2019re approaching a year since that announcement, and I don\u2019t see anything remotely close to what Google showcased, even from Google itself. Material 3 Expressive has so much potential, and I really don\u2019t want it to go to waste.<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Telegram")
<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/edired-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Obsidian")
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