Microsoft is busy rolling out new curvy and colorful new Office icons, and now it’s revealing a set of design concepts it experimented with before finalizing these new icons. Some of the concepts are radically different from what Microsoft is shipping, with design explorations for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that more closely resemble the Office for Mac icons of the past.
https://www.theverge.com/news/799736/microsoft-office-icons-test-versions
On Tuesday, OpenAI released Sora 2, the latest version of its video and audio generation tool that it promised would be the “most powerful imagination engine ever built.” Less than a day into its release, it appears the imaginations of most people are dominated by copyrighted material and existing intellectual property.
https://gizmodo.com/the-first-24-hours-of-sora-2-chaos-copyright-violations-sam-altman-shoplifting-and-more-2000666216
Microsoft is officially unveiling its new Office icons today, after they leaked earlier this year. The icons have a modern design that’s more colorful and playful, with subtle changes that match Microsoft’s recent work with its Fluent illustrations.
https://www.theverge.com/news/789533/microsoft-office-new-icons-design
If mixed reality and virtual reality are still a big thing, you wouldn’t know it based on Meta’s Connect conference last week. There were no big Quest announcements (outside of maybe Hyperscape), no new Quest headset, and it felt like the only time Meta (traditionally the loudest and proudest purveyor of XR out there) really tackled XR and VR was through a surprise, and slightly out of place, fireside chat with… Avatar director, James Cameron.
https://gizmodo.com/vr-headsets-are-better-than-ever-and-no-one-seems-to-care-2000663098
The iOS 26 release may be the most controversial since the drastic changes made to iOS 7 back in 2013. Users didn’t appreciate having to watch short animations before getting into their apps. Many complained about the UI hiding useful buttons, making it harder for power users to find the right tools for the job. Despite the controversy, skeuomorphism—where Apple tried incorporating more familiar images and designs, such as the battery image representing battery life—still remains to this day. That brings us to now and the emphasis on “glassmorphism,” emphasizing opaque windows for a pseudo-3D effect.
https://gizmodo.com/liquid-glass-on-ios-26-is-here-to-stay-whether-you-like-it-or-not-2000658876
A Swedish firm hopes that drones will open up a new market for hot food delivery. Värmdö is just eight miles (13km) from Stockholm as the crow flies, and accessible by car, bus and ferry. But its population of around 46,000 – rising to up to 100,000 in the summer – has few hot food delivery options. At the moment Aviant is in a "beta phase" – only delivering 10 items a week, while they check everything works.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crlze41zygdo
Adobe’s Aero discontinuation isn’t just about one company’s strategic shift—it’s a reality check for an industry still searching for its mainstream moment. While mixed reality continues evolving, this development reminds us that even tech giants can misjudge market timing and demand.
https://www.xrtoday.com/augmented-reality/end-of-an-era-adobe-pulls-the-plug-on-aero-as-ar-industry-reality-bites/