---
title: The 5 Most Controversial App Icon Redesigns
description: Most apps update their look every now and again. But these were something special.
---
Solutions
#### Solutions
- [Brands & Publishers](https://apptopia.com/brands-publishers-solutions)
- [Sales Teams](https://apptopia.com/sdk-sales-solutions)
- [Public Finance](https://apptopia.com/public-finance-solutions)
- [Private Equity](https://apptopia.com/investor-solutions)
#### PRODUCTS
- [Sales Prospector](https://apptopia.com/sales-prospector)
Find targeted leads quickly
- [Radar](https://apptopia.com/radar-product)
Track your competitors' every move
- [Alpha Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/alpha-intelligence)NEW
Spot signals ahead of the curve
- [Bloomberg Terminal App](https://apptopia.com/bloomberg-app)NEW
Layer app data over fundamentals
#### Integrations
- [Integrations Passport](https://apptopia.com/integrations-passport)
Pay once and get unlimited integrations
Data
- [X-Ray Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/x-ray-intelligence)NEW
See app classification insights for every app and mobile game
- [Search Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/search-intelligence)
Insights on paid and organic search results for 75K+ keywords
- [Performance Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/performance-data)
Downloads, revenue, and usage insights for 7M apps
- [Audience Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/audience-data)
Demographic and cross-app usage insights
- [Review Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/review-intelligence)
Get actionable insights from user reviews
- [SDK Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/sdk-data)
Track which apps install or uninstall over 2,900 SDKs
[Pricing](https://apptopia.com/pricing)
Company
- [Our DNA](https://apptopia.com/our-approach)
- [Our Data](https://apptopia.com/our-data)
- [Our Compliance](https://apptopia.com/our-compliance)
- [Our Team](https://apptopia.com/about-us)
Resources
- [Reports & Guides](https://apptopia.com/resources)
- [Free Insights](https://apptopia.com/newsletter-archive)
- [Case Studies](https://apptopia.com/case-studies)
- [Blog](https://blog.apptopia.com/)
- [Top Charts](https://apptopia.com/store-insights/top-charts/itunes-connect)
[Top Charts](https://apptopia.com/store-insights/top-charts/itunes-connect)
[Log In](https://apptopia.com/users/sign_in)
[Request a Demo](https://apptopia.com/demo)
[Get Free Data](https://apptopia.com/free-data-insights)
[OUR BLOG](https://blog.apptopia.com)
Categories
Data Insights
Back
- [Fintech](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/fintech)
- [App Economy](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/app-economy)
- [Entertainment](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/entertainment)
- [Food & Dining](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/food-dining)
- [Health and Fitness](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/health-and-fitness)
- [Commerce](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/commerce)
- [Company News](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/company-news)
- [Games](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/games)
- [Social Media](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/social-media)
Mobile 101
Back
- [Sales](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/sales)
- [Marketing](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/marketing)
- [Competitive Intelligence](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/competitive-intelligence)
- [Investing](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/investing)
- [Announcements](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/product-update)
- [Podcast](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/podcast)
- [Webinars](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/topic/webinar)
# The 5 Most Controversial App Icon Redesigns
Jun 22, 2016
Jun 22, 2016
Earlier this week, Netflix unveiled a new logo.
Premiering Monday on the company’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram profiles, the slimmed down design—a red “N” overlaid on a black background—was created with readability on smaller (read: mobile) screens in mind, and will soon become the face of Netflix’s app.
Source: *The Verge*
So far, reaction has been mostly positive, but we’re guessing that’s because the update has yet to hit mobile home screens. As we’re all too aware, praise for updating a look, especially when it comes to popular, beloved apps, is few and far between. In just the past year alone, numerous app re-imaginings have been met with little more than outright condemnation.
We take a look at the most notable.
**Spotify**
****
Source: *Entreprenuer *
Last summer, the music-streaming giant updated their logo in the most minimal way possible, moving from one tone of green to another. Nothing—I repeat, nothing—else was altered, and yet, users were upset enough to force lead designer, Tobias van Schneider, to issue [a defense of the change](http://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/07/20/wow-thats-green/#gref).
A year later, the design has remained and the vitriol has all but disappeared. And with Spotify recently crossing the 100 million users mark, the outcry doesn’t appear to have had any effect whatsoever.
**Apple News**
****
Source: *Gizmodo*
This month, Apple updated the look of the Apple News app, and for some, it comes a little too close for comfort to the logo of popular video game "Dota 2." While most (rational) people believe the similarity in design was unintentional, many think that it demonstrates Apple’s disregard for gaming and the gaming community.
That *could* spell a problem for Apple if mobile games continue to grow in popularity, and serious gamers start opting for devices based on the perceived support of mobile gaming. It’s a stretch, though.
**Google Play Redesign**
****
Source: *The Verge*
Ok, so this is kind of cheating. The Google Play redesign is not one app, but rather Google updating its suite of app logos to achieve a more unified design.
Little backlash has come. Though, some Google Play fans have complained that the codifying of propreitary apps through design is too similar to Apple's UI. And as we know, Android users (or at least those in ad campaigns) pride themselves as being the individualists to Apple’s conformists.
**Instagram**
****
Source: *The Verge*
Who could forget the outcry earlier this year when Instagram drastically overhauled its app’s design? The Internet was aflame. *[Adweek](http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/instagrams-new-logo-travesty-can-we-change-it-back-please-171398)* called it a “travesty.” Or just take a look at this [hilarious (scary?) post](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/instagram-changed-iconic-logo-internet-trashes-article-1.2632887) in the *New York Daily News* recounting the widespread denouncement of the new minimalist design.
A few months later, though, after the initial “hot takes” died down, the tide seems to have turned, and the redesign praised. In May, [**Business Insider** wrote](http://www.businessinsider.com/eye-tracking-heat-maps-reveal-best-logos-2016-5) how the new logo “is actually 10% more engaging to the human eye than its predecessor.”
**Uber**
****
Source: *CNN*
Uber’s redesign was met with the same—if not more—hatred than Instagram. The only difference? Months later and [everyone still hates it.](http://www.albanydailystar.com/technology/uber-changed-old-logo-with-ugly-meaningless-abstract-logo-lakewood-technology-time-16038.html)
## Request Your Demo
### ##
## Get free data on any market
Track your competition with
a custom intelligence report
[Get Started](https://apptopia.com/free-competitive-intelligence-report)
## Get free data on any market
Track your competition with
a custom intelligence report
[Get Started](https://apptopia.com/free-competitive-intelligence-report)
## Popular Posts
[2019 Worldwide Download Leaders](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/2019-worldwide-download-leaders)
[Bloomberg & Apptopia: Why it Matters](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/bloomberg-apptopia-why-it-matters)
[hs support](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/3-rules-for-effective-mobile-video-ads-0)
[WWDC Day 1 Recap...Yawn.](https://blog-staging.apptopia.com/wwdc-day-1-recap)
## Never miss an insight. Get quality content sent to your inbox every week.
[](https://apptopia.com/)
#### SOLUTIONS
- [Brands & Publishers](https://apptopia.com/brands-publishers-solutions)
- [Sales Teams](https://apptopia.com/sdk-sales-solutions)
- [Public Finance](https://apptopia.com/public-finance-solutions)
- [Private Equity](https://apptopia.com/investor-solutions)
#### Products
- [Sales Prospector](https://apptopia.com/sales-prospector)
- [Radar](https://apptopia.com/radar-product)
- [Alpha Intelligence](https://apptopia.com/alpha-intelligence)
- [Bloomberg Terminal App](https://apptopia.com/bloomberg-app)
#### Information
- [Pricing](https://apptopia.com/pricing)
- [API Documentation](https://dev.apptopia.com/)
- [Support](https://help.apptopia.com/knowledge)
#### Company
- [About Us](https://apptopia.com/about)
- [Blog](https://apptopia-2045506.hs-sites.com)
- [Careers](https://apptopia.com/careers)
- [Press](https://apptopia.com/press-room)
- [Company News](http://blog.apptopia.com/topic/company-news)
#### Legal
- [Terms of Service](https://apptopia.com/terms)
- [Privacy Policy](https://apptopia.com/privacy)
- [Pricing Policy](https://apptopia.com/policy-pricing)
© Apptopia 2023