macOS 26 Tahoe's Dead Canary Utility App Icons

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Gruber, Apple, and the “Canary” Framing

  • Several commenters note that the author has long been broadly aligned with Apple’s taste and values, which made this unusually harsh critique feel like a “canary in the coal mine.”
  • Others push back on the idea that he was ever purely a sycophant, citing past criticisms (including “Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino”) and apparent fallout with Apple leadership.
  • A common reading: he believes in an “ideal Apple,” and is now reacting strongly as the real company drifts from that ideal.

Icon Design, Liquid Glass, and Visual Language

  • Many see the new Tahoe utility icons as ugly, low-information “non‑icons” that don’t communicate function, add cognitive load, and feel like generic or even AI/freeware icon packs.
  • Specific complaints:
    • Disk Utility’s Apple logo instead of a recognizable disk metaphor.
    • The wrench’s proportions/angle, and the bolt, read as wrong or “uncanny” to people who use tools.
    • Loss of subtle details like the AppleScript paper forming an “S”.
  • Some defend the icons as fine or slightly better than the old ones, stressing that prior versions weren’t great either and these are rarely seen apps.
  • Liquid Glass is widely criticized as inconsistent, low-contrast, and reminiscent of cheap Linux/GNOME icon themes; others describe the idea as promising but poorly executed.

Squircle Jail and iOS-ification of macOS

  • “Squircle jail” for non-conforming icons bothers many: it reduces silhouette diversity, harms glanceability, and erases personality (compared to older, varied shapes or grayscale “utility” treatments).
  • This is seen as part of a broader, unwelcome trend of macOS becoming more iOS-like, prioritizing visual uniformity over function and efficiency.

Broader Worries: Decline, Design Culture, and Enshittification

  • Multiple comments tie the icons to a longer arc: thinning AppleScript support, worse Notification Center keyboard control, buggy releases, and “Liquid Glass” as signs Apple no longer sweats details.
  • Some frame it as Jobs-era craft vs Cook-era shareholder focus; others say quality stagnation started long ago but is now undeniable.
  • SwiftUI and recent UI frameworks are cited as immature yet over-pushed, symptomatic of a fraying design and tooling culture.

Alternatives, Nostalgia, and No-Win Choices

  • Several participants say they’re exiting the Apple ecosystem (toward Linux/ThinkPads), trading polish for control and privacy.
  • Others argue Apple is still clearly better than Windows, Android, and Linux on overall UX, hardware, and privacy, even if it’s slipping.
  • There’s strong nostalgia for 2000s-era Aqua and Windows Vista/7 skeuomorphism, with flat, squircle-heavy design viewed as visually dead and less usable.
  • A minority prefers modern flat design and sees much of the backlash as “grognard” resistance to change.