Apple Music unveils monochrome logo created with sound‑driven liquid ripples

The rebrand, developed with TBWA\Media Arts Lab, uses a transducer in mineral oil to turn music into rippling visuals.

By Felo News Desk · Published Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:39:21 GMT

Apple Music introduced a new monochrome logo on Oct. 21, 2026, replacing its pink‑white icon with a black symbol on a white background, according to Digital Trends and Adweek.

What happened

The redesign was revealed in a short video that shows an Apple Music‑shaped object submerged in clear mineral oil. When frequencies are played through a transducer, ripples form on the liquid surface, creating the visual language for the new identity. The change will appear across Apple Music’s original content and event programming this week.

What the reports add

Digital Trends reported that Apple worked with musician Fred Again and sound‑design firm NEST Acoustics to develop the concept, describing the liquid as “clear mineral oil.”
Adweek noted that the creative agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab (MAL) led the rebrand, coining the concept “made by sound” and introducing a new audiovisual mnemonic alongside a custom wordmark that pairs the Apple symbol with a bold, lowercase SF Pro typeface.
Adweek added that the new look was first teased in a marketing campaign for Apple Music Hall last month, and that some social‑media users criticized the minimalist black‑and‑white app icon that arrived with the iOS 27.2 update.
Both outlets said Apple released a behind‑the‑scenes film showing how the ripples were captured and turned into the visual identity.

What was said

“Essentially, the idea was to create the perfect sound wave. We take a frequency, and we play it through a rig,” the company said, as quoted by Digital Trends.

Apple’s statement, quoted by Digital Trends, said the company “used music to create the visuals” and explained that the transducer converts an audio signal into physical vibration, producing the ripples.

Adweek reported that the agency described the look as giving Apple Music “a sound of its own.”

How it came about

The rebrand follows Apple’s broader visual refresh for its services, including the iOS 27 launch that added new Apple Music features such as landscape mode and social playlists (Felo coverage). The new logo was first teased in a marketing campaign for Apple Music Hall, the live‑venue space inside Battersea Power Station that opened in September (Felo coverage).

Key facts

Apple Music replaced its pink‑white icon with a black‑and‑white logo on Oct. 21, 2026. (digitaltrends.com)
The visual concept was created using a transducer in mineral oil to turn music into ripples. (adweek.com)
Fred Again and Nest Acoustics collaborated with Apple on the design. (digitaltrends.com)
TBWA\Media Arts Lab led the rebrand and introduced a new audiovisual mnemonic. (adweek.com)
The new look will roll out across Apple Music original content and event programming this week. (adweek.com)