Google’s president of the Android Ecosystem has shut down speculation that Android will adopt Apple’s Liquid Glass design language, at least on Pixel devices. In response to a mockup of Liquid Glass on a Pixel 11 posted on X, Sameer Samat said, “Not happening. Y’all are wild.” The response is welcome news for Android fans who have watched a wave of manufacturers copy Apple’s aesthetic over the past year.
Several Android OEMs have already taken the bait
Since Apple unveiled Liquid Glass at WWDC in June last year, several Android manufacturers have replicated the look on their respective skins. OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo, Honor, and Xiaomi have all shipped UI updates that lift the translucent, frosted-glass aesthetic Apple introduced. The imitation has been widespread enough to raise alarms over Android’s own visual identity.
Google, at least for its own Pixel line, is resisting the pull.
Material 3 Expressive is already pretty great
Google debuted its own updated design language, Material 3 Expressive, at I/O 2025, and the update brings bolder colors, more dynamic motion, and fluid shape transitions across the system UI, notifications, and core apps. It gives Pixel devices a distinctive personality.
Material 3 Expressive already gives Google a design story it can stand behind without borrowing from a competitor, and Samat’s response signals the company intends to stick to it. For those who use Pixel phones, the comment amounts to a guarantee that Android’s design language will stay its own.
Liquid Glass may spread further across third-party Android skins, but Google’s own devices will ship with a design system built on its own terms. Whether other Android manufacturers follow Google’s lead remains to be seen.