Based on the Hacker News discussion, here are the 4 most prevalent themes:
1. The Trade-off Between Usability and Aesthetic Trends
Many users argue that the shift toward minimalist, flat, and uniform icon designs has sacrificed usability for visual harmony and trendiness. The consensus is that older icons, while more illustrative, were easier to scan and distinguish at a glance.
"A standardized container adds regularity to irregular shapes. Recently, Apple has been heavily opting for visual harmony, so their icons look consistent when seen as a set. Google too. It's an industry trend that is fairly annoying." — iamcalledrob
"The icons have moved from representing a writing implement as a pen to an Apple Pencil. I doubt that's unintentional." — gnarlouse
2. Modern Icons Are Often Ambiguous and Fail to Communicate Function
A major point of criticism is that the newest icons are too abstract, failing to clearly represent the application's purpose, especially for new or infrequent users. The "inkwell" or "pen on paper" metaphors are criticized as dated, but the modern abstract symbols are deemed even less intuitive.
"The quill and ink at least communicates that it's about writing. The new one is so abstract that when I first looked at it I had no idea what I was even looking at, it certainly doesn't communicate 'this is like word' to me." — ImprobableTruth
"The current icon is completely ambiguous crap." — WWLink
3. The Decline of Visual Distinctiveness
Commenters express frustration that icons have become so similar to one another—often due to uniform shapes, color theming, and simplified forms—that they are difficult to differentiate quickly. This is seen as a regression from older icons that had unique shapes and visual languages.
"Now all icons look alike, and it takes longer to recognize." — fvgvkujdfbllo
"Google was the only one I disliked because literally all of their icons looked the same. The Apple ones are all fairly recognizable just by colour. Settings: grey, App store: blue, etc." — Gigachad
4. There Is No Single "Correct" Design Philosophy; it is Subjective
While many users prefer skeuomorphic or highly detailed icons, others defend the cleaner, more abstract style for reducing visual clutter. The discussion highlights that design preference is subjective and varies based on whether one prioritizes artistic expression or functional clarity.
"I've honestly never had an issue with using flat design... I legitimately don't understand why people care." — CooCooCaCha
"Because it is literally the best way to design and everyone else is wrong. Look at actual HCI studies. There's exactly zero arguments for any kind of flat or minimalistic design outside of art..." — Pannoniae