Did Tim Cook really fire the designer behind Apple’s ‘Liquid Glass’ interface?

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, the company introduced its bold new 'Liquid Glass' interface, and rolled it out across iOS 26, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and VisionOS. The 'Liquid Glass' interface features translucent panels, layered blur effects, and fluid depth, that has been inspired by the spatial design of Vision Pro, the interface aims to offer a visually immersive experience. But cryptic posts by the maker behind this interface, Jon Yongfook, got us confused.

What Jon Yongfook wrote on X?

"I was fired by Apple today.

Me and my design team have spent the last 18 months tirelessly testing different levels of gaussian blur on backgrounds when foreground elements are in focus.

If you are looking for experts in the blur, glass liquid, grass or fur UI space, lmk."

While the company branded it a "gorgeous design," many users have criticised it for being overly flashy, with some calling it one of the "ugliest designs" Apple has ever released. Some have raised concerns which seem to be practical, particularly about difficulty reading text against the new layered background.

Jon followed up with another tongue-in-cheek comment offering his expertise in “blur, glass liquid, grass or fur UI.”

Despite the viral spread of these posts, there’s no evidence to support Yongfook’s claim of being employed—or fired—by Apple. The company hasn't made any official statement about terminating any design team member, and the posts appear to be satirical in nature. The narrative seems to have been exaggerated by social media users who took the joke at face value.

Fueling the drama is the broader backlash to Apple’s newly unveiled Liquid Glass interface at WWDC 2025, with some critics comparing it to Windows Vista’s Aero look. The design’s heavy use of blur and transparency has drawn both admiration and ridicule online. However, Apple has stood by its new aesthetic, and no firings have occurred—making this just another example of online speculation spiraling into misplaced outrage.

On Wednesday, June 11, Jon has put out another evidently satirical post on "Bricky Brick", where all icons would be sealed behind "solid brick", as an answer to those users calling overly flashy.

He has posted one more sarcastic (or is it cryptic) message:

He most definitely has a questionable X feed. Though a verified profile, who says he is from Singapore, we aren't sure if he has any connection with the tech giants, or is just running one more vague profile on social media. We are also not if it is just one person or a team behind handling this account.

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