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{{trope}}
[[File:everything-is-an-ipod-in-the-
As [[The Aesthetics of Technology]] change, our [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|vision of the future]] [[Zeerust|does, too]]. [[Raygun Gothic]] gave way to [[Crystal Spires and Togas]], in turn supplanted by [[Used Future]] and [[Cyberpunk]] (and ''then'' all kinds of [[Punk Punk]]). [[The New Tens|At the time of this writing]], the most common style for the future is a mix of all of the foregoing, plus... well, the iPod. [[Trope Maker|You can thank Apple designer]] [[w:Jony Ive|Jony Ive]] for that.▼
▲As [[The Aesthetics of Technology]] change, our [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|vision of the future]] [[Zeerust|does, too]]. [[Raygun Gothic]] gave way to [[Crystal Spires and Togas]], in turn supplanted by [[Used Future]] and [[Cyberpunk]] (and ''then'' all kinds of [[Punk Punk]]). [[The New Tens|At the time of this writing]], the most common style for the future is a mix of all of the foregoing, plus... well, the iPod.
Right now, being cutting-edge is all about plain black and white (maybe pastel colours if you're lucky), translucent plastic, smoothed edges, screens that slide and flip out, touch screens, unobtrusive buttons, minimalist advertising and displays, [[Design Student's Orgasm|lights that come out of nowhere]] and catchy little chimes when the devices start up. And of course, it's all small and convenient. For current evidence, look no further than the success of the iPod range and the [[Mac|iMac]] style it was based on, its [[Follow the Leader|imitators]] and other things that have adopted the style, such as pretty much the entire range of the latest game consoles.
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[[Everything Is Online]], and physical data storage either consists of an equivalent of a USB thumbdrive or doesn't exist at all, considering that computers are so small and compact you can carry them anywhere and transfer data wirelessly. Interfaces are designed to be soothing, easy to use and colourful, and if intelligent they'll probably be [[Stop Helping Me!|annoyingly helpful]].
Of course, like every other "futuristic" visual style used in previous decades, this trope will probably be considered [[Zeerust]] after a while. Interestingly, of all the iPod models produced by Apple, the iPod Touch is the only one that's still on shelves.<ref>The iPod Classic was discontinued in September 2014, the Mini in September 2005 and the Nano and Shuffle both in July 2017.</ref>
Contrast [[Raygun Gothic]], which is its opposite in a number of ways. See also [[Holographic Terminal]] and [[Ascetic Aesthetic]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* [[Doomed Upgrade|Zero]] from the first ''[[Patlabor]]'' movie has some of this look about him. Which is quite impressive, considering Yutaka Izubuchi designed him in the late '80s.
* The eponymous robot from ''[[Heroman]]''.
▲== Films -- Animation ==
* EVE in ''[[WALL-E]]'' is basically a floating sentient iPod space probe that appears to be made mostly of curves, folds up neatly, and is packed with numerous features. Makes sense, since her character design was done by Jonathan Ive, who designed... wait for it... the iPod.
* ''[[Despicable Me]]'' uses this to contrast Gru's classic [[Mad Scientist]] style villainy with the upstart, next-gen villain, Vector. Gru's base looks like something out of a [[James Bond]] film, Vector's looks like if Steve Jobs had designed an iFortress.
== Films
* The 2009 ''[[Star Trek (
** Nokia was enlisted to help design the communicators as well.
** It's probably worth noting that the Apple.com splash screen when the second-gen aluminium iMac was released had a frame from that movie on the iMac's screen.
** In many ways the closest resemblance to anything from the original ''[[
** Ironically, the pop art bright colors in the Original Series make more sense as it prevents cabin fever among the crew.
** At the end of ''[[Star Trek IV:
* The Starship Heart of Gold and Marvin the Paranoid Android in the film adaptation of ''[[The
** The films artbook actually almost outlines this trope word for word. It also refers to how the designers wanted the titular guide to look like the ''previous'' generations iPod to the Heart of Gold's current gen model.
* In the second ''[[Cube]]'', instead of something out of hell with dark shadows, visible circuit boards, spinning doorlatches and rumbling elevators, the environment of the new tesseract cube is almost user-friendly with all white surfaces and touch-to-open panels.
* The film ''[[I, Robot (
* The shiny areas of ''[[Minority Report]]'' qualify.
* The Work Pods and the interior of the ''Discovery'' in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', made in 1968. This inspired the design of the iPod, hence the name. ("I'm sorry Dave, I can't play that...")
** Samsung has attempted using 2001's tablet-like devices as Prior Art to Apple's iPad in a patent struggle.
* ''[[The Island]]''
* ''[[Star Wars]]''
** Kaminoan interiors surely look like this trope, but it's subverted: the walls of Kamino's cities are actually covered by beautiful art... that's only visible in UV spectrum (and only Kaminoans have UV vision).
** Leia's ship that gets captured at the beginning of A New Hope.
* ''[[
* The control room for the Arena in ''[[The Hunger Games (
== Literature ==
* In the ''[[
* The Chee in ''[[
== Live-Action TV ==
* The TARDIS in ''Doctor Who'' can be thought of as a version of this, in its original 1960s incarnation. The original set designer, Peter Brachacki, gave it a sterile white feel covered in a regular geometric pattern of circles with hints of neoclassical architecture to make it look "timeless", rather than making it deliberately futuristic. Due to the low budget the control console in the middle of the room was covered with conventional buttons, dials, levers and switches (Brachacki's original concept called for controls moulded specifically to the pilot's hands), but the sterile white roundel-covered walls became iconic and continue to inform the design of the current TARDIS sets nearly 50 years on. Amusingly, attempts by subsequent less visionary designers to make the TARDIS look deliberately futuristic (especially with [https://web.archive.org/web/20140207062945/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0d/TARDIS_console_1983.jpg the console design in the 1980s], which looked like a giant [[wikipedia:BBC Micro|BBC Micro]]) dated at alarming speed.
** That original circular design on the walls is a hugely-enlarged photo of a pill packet!
* Inverted on the DVD [https://web.archive.org/web/20160311091901/http://img.hotmoviesale.com/dvds/
* ''[[Star Trek:
** However, in ST:TNG and subsequent ''[[
* Despite ''[[
* [[Andromeda]] computers are rather like this.
* The interiors of Moonbase Alpha on ''
== Music ==
* The spaceship appearing in the music video for [[Michael Jackson|Michael and Janet Jackson's]] "Scream".
* The [[Robosexual|lesbian robots]] in [[Bjork]]'s "All Is Full of Love" video.
== Tabletop Games ==
* One of the aesthetics in ''[[Genius: The Transgression]]'' is called "Pod People." The corebook mentions an editorial cartoon in a Genius-run magazine supposedly depicting the standard Pod People [[Death Ray]]: its description sounds like an iPod with its controls replaced by a single button labeled "KILL."
* The Tau Empire in [[Warhammer
* ''[[Traveller]]'' fits this to a T with illustrations of computers looking almost exactly like twenty-first century ones. Justifiable in that after you have miniaturized past a certain level user friendliness, fashion and aesthetics will become a premium. Maybe you can someday put several terrabytes into a datadisk the size of a dime but a human still needs to interface with it comfortably, so it is hard to picture computers designed to communicate directly with a human instead of just another computer being smaller then a palmtop without being inconvenient. Wristwatch-sized computers, "datacloths" which seem to be flexible paper-thin screens, and perhaps myriads of other arrangements are available. However one of the most popular arrangements in Traveller from pictures and discriptions seems to be something that looks rather like an Amazon Kindle.
* ''[[Eclipse Phase]]'' has this, because any object not physically implanted or worn has to be usable by everything from ordinary humans to uplifted squid. As a result, everything is palm-sized, made of smooth cream-coloured plastic, lacks corners or sharp edges, and more than likely doesn't even have buttons, since you can operate most things mentally.
== Video Games ==
* ''[[Portal (
** In fact, one of the turrets from ''Portal'' was used to represent a Macintosh computer in a "Steam for Mac" ad, with a ''[[
* The city in ''[[
* The entire city of Esthar in ''[[
* The Gamecube game ''[[
* The shinier locales in ''[[Mass Effect]]'', like Illium or the Citadel, tend towards smooth white walls and blue [[Holographic Terminal
* Terran ships and stations in the ''[[X (
* The Empire of the Rising Sun in ''[[Command
* Aeon technology in ''[[
* ''[[Putt
* The Parasites from [[Gratuitous Space Battles]]. Their ships consist entirely of white metal hulls with brightly colored, transparent accents, and sleek weapons.
== Web Comics ==
* [[Robot Buddy|Winslow]] in ''[[Questionable Content]]'' is basically a very large, self-aware iPod with arms, legs and a video-screen "face", supposedly made by Apple. His PC and Linux-based counterparts have somewhat more physical faces that can change expression.
* In ''[[A Mad Tea
* [[Domain Tnemrot]] Tempest has a computer that looks and acts like an iPad. This is explained in the [[Word of God|notes]] as most tech in the future being touch screen.
== Web Original ==
* ''[[Ilivais X]]'' follows this design, with cities being futuristic bubbles held above the land, and the [[Humongous Mecha]] typically being very sleek and advanced. The Avespias are the only units to even have any kind face, as the Ilivais prototypes have curved wedges with a sensor web, and the Espadas are piloted from within a shoulder-mounted sphere.
== Western Animation ==
* [[Lampshaded]] in an episode of ''[[
== Real Life ==
* [[w:Jony Ive|Jony Ive]] had a massive influence on this trope, and tech design in general. Apple's former Chief Design Officer (CDO), he joined Apple in 1992 and designed many major Apple products, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone and MacBook.
* Most design aesthetic today leans toward this. Generally, most people like their technology to be sleek, clean, and minimalist. [http://www.teslamotors.com/models Tesla's Model S], which is due for production in mid-2012 is designed around the popular iPod sentiment; it even has pulsing LEDs to indicate charging state and a 17" touchscreen console explicitly based on the iPhone's interface.
** The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOueYfrrSjw Nissan Cube] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c68V3z2tSjw Kia Soul] also seem to be deliberately invoking this in their design.
* Bombardier Movia metro trains. [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cbqm1p3Iac0/SdMFUQkDz0I/AAAAAAAAITE/_Rz_7GudNik/s1600-h/BT-1503-BucharestHR.JPG Movia 346] model looks most like an iPod Classic from the outside, down to the combination of stainless steel and white panelling, and [http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_cbqm1p3Iac0/SdME323jQFI/AAAAAAAAIS8/1MhJVPfmSGw/s1600-h/BT-2459-BucharestHR.JPG the inside] does not lag far behind.
** [http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss12/SBS1988U/Trains/BT-PR-20081107-Singapore_Downtown_L.jpg The version for Singapore's upcoming Downtown Line looks even sleeker], with the ridged metal paneling on the sides gone in preference for a smooth glossy white one. The headlights themselves have been streamlined into mere slits on the front.
* Mercedes-Benz [[wikipedia:File:Bucharest Citaro bus 3.jpg|Citaro]] series of urban buses. You can also have one in [https://web.archive.org/web/20060611161750/http://www.britishmodelbuses.com/Real%20bus%20pictures%20Large%20Images/Mercedes%20Benz_Citaro%20Articulated_Stagecoach%20in%20London_Large.jpg red]. Or [http://bus-and-coach-photos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/1628.jpg both].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111031042324/http://strand-craft.com/122.html Strand Craft] yachts. Not white, but [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|they will make one in white if you have the big bucks]]. And she comes with her own supercar.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120615031102/http://emea.skagen.com/ Skagen] [http://www.watchismo.com/skagen-watches.aspx Watches]. [http://www.skagen.co.uk/index.php?SCREEN=skagen_gents_steel&nCategoryID=33 Simplicity and understatement] [[Up to Eleven|pushed to the extreme]], at least as much as the outer design is concerned.
* [http://www.sudbrock.de Sudbrock] furniture. Besides clean, light and airy looks, it's also [https://web.archive.org/web/20131016220259/http://freshome.com/2011/03/10/elegant-and-practical-furniture-collection-sentoselect-by-sudbrock/ adaptable] to the room shape and many potential uses.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120727004656/http://www.benelli.it/
* The [[Wii]] itself seems to be going for this kind of aesthetic.
* The [[Nintendo DS]] series seem to be going for this look [[wikipedia:File:Nintendo-DS-Lite-Black-Open.png|in]] [[wikipedia:File:Nintendo-DSi-Bl-Open.png|its]] revisions.
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* Also compare the iPad, essentially an iPod touch with a screen that's twice as big in each direction but which may in fact be thinner. Or, as one critic wrote, a more powerful iPod Touch that can be used by people without the eyesight of an Air Force pilot.
* Deliberately averted by Microsoft with their design philosophy called "Metro"<ref>named for the signage used by mass transit systems, not metrosexuality. or so we've been told</ref> that was first used in the user interface for the Zune HD and later fully fleshed out in Windows Phone 7<ref>although elements of it date back to the "twist" UI used in Windows Media Center 2005 and earlier generation Zunes</ref> which eschews glossy, rounded icons for decidedly flat, square tiles and heavy [[Useful Notes/Fonts|typography]], along with off-centered alignments and text that runs off the screen in order to aid in navigation through contextual clues to reduce the amount of excess UI elements. It is about as un-Apple as they could get while still being visually distinctive and functional - which was the goal.
** And now they are in the process of implementing the look across their entire product line ranging from the [[
** Funnily enough, it was so Un-Apple that Apple seemed to finally take notice everyone was copying them and decided to sue everyone... except Microsoft.
** Microsoft played it straight with their view of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxPn4Eo0PRk 2020].
* Many of the exhibits at the Sony Wonder Tech Lab in Manhattan, New York are designed this way.
* This is a common design for the new wave of trendy self-serve frozen yogurt shops that have been sweeping the US in the last few years.
* Subverted by ''[[Consumer Reports]]''' recommended stopgap fix for the Apple iPhone 4's "death grip" problem. Put [[Duct Tape for Everything|duct tape]] on the case - [[Used Future]] iPhone, anyone?
* The "Ceramic White" dashboard trim for the Chevy Volt. [[Law of Chromatic Superiority|The "Dark" alternative is only available if you order one of the leather upholstery options ($1000)]].
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* The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38 "A Day Made of Glass"] commercial by Corning. 5 minutes of life in a world where nearly everything is either translucent or reflective, which makes it more like Everything Is Windows Aero in the Future.
* An early example was the Ford Sierra, when it first came out in 1982. It was the first of the Fords to sport the bulbous "aero look" and was so unique at the time, it was dubbed the "Salesman's Spaceship".
** The Ford Taurus followed in 1985, and the makers of [[
* The [http://www.westfield.com/ Westfield] chain of gigantic shopping malls, in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, to the point that rather than standing out for their design, the Apple stores in them completely blend in to their waves-of-curved-sheet-glass aesthetic.
* Discovery thinks this trope [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-px4MAKREs here]. Its a three parter about 2057, guess when this was made.
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