On Friday, Google joined the disco-ball icon trend by rolling out custom sparkly app icons for its Pixel phones. After Spotify’s temporary glittery icon drew mixed reactions, with some calling it ugly and others finding it amusing, Google decided to make it official.
The new icons can be accessed via Pixel’s custom icons feature, which allows users to choose from various AI-generated styles, including a hand-drawn “Scribbles” aesthetic or a colorful “Easel.” Before this, users could only customize their icons by changing the colors to match the phone’s wallpaper and theme.
Sameer Samat, head of Android ecosystem at Google, joked on X, saying, 'Your wish is our command. Disco icons available on Pixel as of today … Are y’all sure you still want this?' The post included a screenshot of a Pixel phone fully decked out with sparkly, disco-ball-inspired icons, which looks just as terrible (incredible??) as it sounds.
The whimsical move towards more playful home screens aligns with reports from The New York Times that the Zillennials are embracing a “playful response to a difficult world.” As off-brand as these new icons might be, they add a touch of sparkle and fun to everyday phone usage. Whether this trend catches on remains to be seen.







