Alchemy by Leban Hyde | UX + Branding

It’s the second day into the week and, admittedly, I’m already tired. Or better put, I’m still tired from staying up to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday night (kind of obligatory if you live in Kansas City). Last week’s news started off slow, but then gained a full head of steam about halfway through. With no particular theme in mind for this issue, we steer back firmly into the land of mobile.

Week 6 (02/04–02/10)

Screens of the new Google Gemini chatbot app

Apple… could be working on a foldable iPhone (or iPad) — no, seriously. Substantiated by apparent prototypes, years of rumors may finally prove true. Reportedly, the engineer team is struggling with the challenges common to foldables (the hinge, screen crease, battery size) and we likely won’t see a launch date until 2026. Despite Samsung, Google, and other OEMs having multiple generations of foldables now, Apple is still the last holdout (sigh).

Google… released a dedicated Gemini AI app on Android. Formerly known as Bard, the newly rebranded AI chatbot enhances the current Google Assistant experience, but with a catch — you have to choose one of the other. iOS users will, unfortunately, have to wait for the dedicated app, but can still access Gemini through the Google app.

Bluesky… is now open to the public after nearly a year of being invite-only. This is good news to anyone who misses Twitter and is looking for an alternative, which includes a Twitter-like experience. For those who have never heard of Bluesky, here is a detailed explainer as well as the post that was linked in the official announcement that hit my inbox.

Also, Apple… published a Q&A piece by their own UX writing team. Found in the February issue of Hello Developer, the team provided answers — with links to related guidelines — to common questions spanning topics like onboarding and notifications. I wanted to shine a light on this particular post because content strategy isn’t covered very often… and also highlight the monthly newsletter as an additional resource (even if you’re not a developer — I’m not).

Also, Google… is expected to include these features in the upcoming Pixel Feature Drop. This is the most complete list to date (including screenshots — woohoo!) based on what’s in the current Beta 3.1 release. The Pixel Feature Drop should roll out in March and, as the name would suggest, is exclusive to the Pixel lineup — the reason why I own a Pixel as my Android device.


And speaking of screenshots… here’s a roundup of articles that include visual examples: Google Maps redesign, before and after; Wear OS design changes; Weather Channel app overhaul; and Google’s new Gemini app. You don’t have to be a designer to appreciate slick UI and, as a designer myself (regardless of job title), I tend to bias towards the visual. So, I’ll share more when I can.

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