Google’s new premier smartphone – the Galaxy Nexus – features a new font dubbed Roboto. Now we’re not saying that Android derives a good deal of inspiration from iOS, but folks with a keener eye for fonts than we possess noticed that Google’s new system-wide font is awfully similar to Helvetica, the font Apple initially used on the iPhone before moving to Helvetica Neue with the release of the iPhone 4.
A picture is worth a thousand words and Michael Degusta was savvy enough to cook up this gif showing how Roboto overlaps with Helvetica. Judge for yourselves below.
October 20th, 2011 at 8:35 am
So what if Roboto is a rip-off of Helvetica?
Android had to rip it off since Helvetica can’t be shipped with open-source devices.
Since it also looks awful on Android, suckers to its users.
October 20th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Really?? Sure, Roboto and Helvetica are both light weight san serif fonts, but there are many fonts that look more like Helvetica than Roboto. Clearly you are *not* font guys.