Android ‘Moonshine’ icons are flat, iOS7-like

Tired of the look of Android 4.4 (KitKat)? Jealous of your iOS 7 friends? Firstly, jealousy gets you nowhere. Secondly, there are rumours and screenshots that point towards a flat new makeover for Android, internally codenamed “Moonshine” says Android Police.

Android Police cites “sources familiar with [Android] design” who’ve sneakily submitted a screenshot of a new-look Android launcher screen. The new icons go crazy with drop shadows, but remove the almost cartoonish (yet colourful) look of the old icons.

These proposed icons don’t meet Google’s iconography standards, which amongst other things says that its icons must “use a distinct silhouette. Three-dimensional, front view, with a slight perspective as if viewed from above, so that users perceive some depth.” The new icons only have depth if viewed from straight on.

The leaked screenshot of the “Moonshine” interface

Android Police compares icons, old and newFinally, we have this. An official Google Partners page has the three new icons for YouTube, Calendar and Maps on its Connect page, but this doesn’t prove that the icons will be used in an upcoming Android build. It does however prove that the new icons will be used somewhere in the Google machine.

Images via Android Police