Apple's Liquid Glass Is Proof That Android Phone Brands Will Copy Anything

Witness, mock, reflect, copy. These aren't just stages of a psychological behaviour, but what goes through the teams of Android phone brands when Apple comes up with a software or hardware trick that's out of the ordinary. When the Cupertino company revealed Liquid Glass in iOS 26 earlier this year, critics called it a legibility nightmare, and yet before the paint had even dried on the keynote, Android manufacturers were already firing their photocopiers.

As brands like Vivo (OriginOS 6), OnePlus (OxygenOS 16) and Oppo (ColorOS 16) debuted suspiciously identical interfaces, the industry has confirmed a sad truth. It doesn't matter if Apple's idea is good or bad. If Apple does it, Android brands will copy it. Liquid Glass is, thus, proof that Android phone brands will copy anything.

The copycat reflex

The speed at which these "inspired features" arrive is almost comical. Take Vivo's OriginOS 6, for example. Its marketing material explicitly throws around terms like flowing water, translucent squircle icons and glass-like control centres that are quite indistinguishable from iOS' new look. Realme went a step further, calling it "Light Glass Design" that mimics Apple's light refraction effects down to the Google Pixel.

As a lifelong Android user, seeing brands trying to copy Apple, over Android's existing core features, has always felt unsettling for me. I've followed brands and seen them take years building their own identity, only to throw them away in an instant as if it never mattered.

Things like Google's Material You, OnePlus' Aquamorphic design and more. By copying Apple's every little visual cue, these brands are admitting that the identity they've built over the years doesn't matter, and is worth tossing away just because Apple decided to make buttons look like ice cubes.

Apple, too, tends to copy features from Android, but they rarely just paste them. They usually refine them into a more cohesive version. Liquid Glass, by contrast, feels like a regression. A design that offers no utility, only aesthetics. By cloning a feature that offers nothing but looks, manufacturers prove they are willing to copy anything. ANYTHING.

The insecurity of "Just in case"

The rush to clone isn't laziness, it's a symptom of insecurity. The reason why Android manufacturers mock Apple at first but still follow suit is that they seem terrified of what I call the "Apple Explosion".

It's a phenomenon where a controversial Apple decision inexplicably becomes a massive cultural trend. It's like that one unrelatable teenager following the current popular school trend to become relatable to everyone, even though he doesn't want to, but then he thinks he will be made fun of.

We saw it with the Dynamic Island in 2022. Even though it was essentially a software release, brands like Realme, OnePlus and even Samsung rushed to implement their own notification islands, fearing they would look outdated without one.

This gives off a logic of fear. With Liquid Glass, they looked at the possibility of What if this new glassy look explodes in popularity? What if this is the next big thing that defines "premium"? Therefore, they copy, creating a safety net of unoriginality just to be sure. It looks like a classic anxiety issue.

Ignoring their own superpowers

The tragedy is that Android phone brands have absolutely no reason to be insecure. No Android user today sees a new Apple feature and goes, "Oh, how I wish my phone did that". (Okay, maybe a few).

However, when you look at how far Android has come over the years, it has always objectively won. While Apple is busy refining glass textures, Android brands are delivering genuine innovations. Features like Notification channels, Split screen multitasking, uniform back gesture all missing on the iPhone.

To name a few, brands like Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi have brought Silicon Carbon batteries, exceptionally-fast chargers and impressive imaging prowess. To top it all off, only Android can boast about foldable phones and AI features currently, which Apple is yet to take off on. Yet, instead of leaning into this power, and saying "We have the best tech", they abandon their identity to chase Apple's aesthetic whims. 

That's not winning users over to Android. If anything, it's showing your potential buyers, "We know our hardware, but we also know you secretly wish you had an iPhone. So here's a UI that pretends to be one". That's pretty counterintuitive.

The bottom line is, Liquid Glass might look beautiful, but it will likely fade into history as just another trend. However, the lesson here shouldn't fade. Android manufacturers need to stop copying Apple's homework and work on strengthening and polishing their own thesis to make a better case for users to get Android over iPhone.

They have built engines that are faster, stronger and efficient, and it's time they start relying on them to power their own innovation. The market doesn't need a second-rate iPhone running Android. It has seen enough of that. It's time Android brands built their own identity and took it seriously, and a great example of that are Google Pixel phones.