Google launches disco-ball Android icons after Spotify backlash

Google released a set of disco-ball-themed Android app icons on May 22, 2026, joining a trend sparked by Spotify's temporary disco ball icon for its 20th anniversary. Android ecosystem head Sameer Samat announced the feature on X, posting a screenshot of a Pixel phone with sparkly icons and asking, "Are y'all sure you still want this?" The icons are available through Pixel's custom icons feature, introduced in March's Pixel Drop, which offers AI-generated styles like "Scribbles," "Treasure," and "Easel." Samat had teased the idea earlier in the week. The move follows user backlash against Spotify's icon, which the streamer called "temporary." Google's release drew mixed reactions, with one user calling it "awful" but adding "I'll take it!" The New York Times notes a trend among Zillennials toward whimsy as a "playful response to a difficult world."