From bold lines to cartoony thumbs, YouTube Music’s fresh icon set is already turning heads.

YouTube Music is beginning a design refresh, introducing a more expressive icon set. The update spans Android, iOS, and the web app, touching both the navigation bars and the playback interface. On the home screen, the bottom navigation icons like “Home,” “Explore,” and “Library” have been reworked, they now appear bolder and rounder, with much thicker lines replacing the previous thin outlines.

On the “Now Playing” screen, adjustments include a new downward chevron, a refreshed Cast icon, and a more prominent overflow menu. But the redesigned thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons are already drawing attention. Other minor tweaks appear in the top-bar icons too, for example, the notification bell has been given a fresh look, and the magnifying glass’s handle has been shortened.

While YouTube hasn’t published a detailed rationale for this redesign, the shift seems designed to bring more personality and clarity to its UI. A thicker, bolder style generally improves visibility and tap-friendliness, and the new aesthetic leans toward warmth rather than purely minimal functional form. Some users have already said the old, thin-line icons were feeling dated.

That said, not all changes have landed smoothly. Some redraws, like the sleep timer icon, have been criticized for becoming too abstract, making them harder to interpret. 

The new icons are rolling out gradually, and many users are seeing the refresh already across platforms. For those who haven’t yet, one trick is to force-stop (or fully close) the YouTube Music app, that has triggered the update for some users.

Overall, the refresh doesn’t change how the app works, but it gives the interface a softer, more expressive feel. 

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