New leaks suggest that iOS 19 could bring one of the biggest visual updates to the iPhone in years. Based on renders shared by YouTuber Jon Prosser, Apple is experimenting with significantly more rounded app icons and a glass-like interface style across menus, buttons, and system elements.
The new look appears to borrow cues from visionOS, but to some, it also resembles the circular icons seen in older versions of Android.
In a new video from Front Page Tech, Prosser shared renders allegedly based on real internal materials from Apple. These images show app icons that move away from the familiar squircle, shifting toward a much more circular appearance.
Whether these will be perfect circles or just significantly rounder than before remains unclear, but the resemblance to Android Nougat’s icon style has already sparked discussion – Android users will, of course, take any opportunity to point out a new iOS feature that has been present in Android for a decade. That’s how the game works.
The shift may be deeper than just icon shapes. According to Prosser, iOS 19 will feature a new glass aesthetic across menus, notifications, and UI components.
There are also thinner toggles in the Settings app, translucent panels, a persistent search bar in Messages, and new lighting effects that give lock screen buttons a subtle shimmer when the phone is moved.
If you’re nostalgic for Frutiger Aero, you’ll definitely like the new design. It’s not an exact copy of our favorite 2000s aesthetics, but the glass elements bring back the familiar feeling.
Interestingly, some of these changes are still hidden in early builds. The more circular icons only appear when long-pressing on an app, likely a way for Apple to keep the visual shift under wraps until WWDC.
Whether the final version of iOS 19 will fully adopt this new look remains to be seen, but the direction is becoming clear.
