当 AI 开始发光：从 iPhone 17 和 vivo 的一次对话说起When AI Begins to Glow: A Conversation That Started with iPhone 17 and vivo
从 iPhone 17 与 vivo 光效的一次闲聊出发，梳理手机 AI 视觉反馈的演变：谁更早、为什么 AI 开始发光、以及光效怎样才算真的有用。A casual comparison between iPhone 17 and vivo sent me through the evolution of visual feedback in phone AI: who did it first, why assistants started glowing, and when glow actually helps.
- AI 交互
- 视觉反馈
- 人机交互
- 产品观察
- 手机系统
- AI Interaction
- Visual Feedback
- HCI
- Product Observations
- Mobile OS
When AI Begins to Glow: The Evolution of Visual Feedback in Smartphone AI
01｜一个关于手机光圈的小发现
昨天，朋友更新了他的 iPhone 17 系统。
更新之后，Apple Intelligence 的 Siri 在被唤醒时，屏幕四周会出现一圈彩色的流动光效。
我看了一眼，觉得有些熟悉。
因为我的 vivo X300e 从买来的时候就已经有类似的效果。
我随口说了一句，朋友告诉我：「苹果之前就有这个光效了。」
这让我开始好奇：这个效果究竟是什么时候出现的？苹果真的比 vivo 更早吗？其他手机品牌有没有类似的设计？
原本只是两部手机之间一个不起眼的视觉细节，却引出了一个值得研究的问题。
为什么现在越来越多的手机 AI 助手，开始用彩色光效来表达自己的存在？
我开始查阅不同手机品牌的系统版本、产品发布资料和 AI 助手的交互设计。随着资料逐渐增多，我发现，这个看似简单的彩虹光圈，其实涉及手机系统设计、视觉语言和人机交互等多个方面。
这篇文章就从这次日常交流开始，尝试梳理手机 AI 光效的演变过程。
02｜先弄清楚：我们说的是同一种光效吗？
在比较不同品牌之前，我觉得需要先区分几个容易混淆的概念。
手机屏幕边缘发光，并不是 AI 时代才出现的设计。
早期手机已经有通知灯、曲面屏边缘灯效等设计。它们也会使用不同颜色的光，但功能与今天的 AI 助手光效并不完全相同。
我把它们暂时分成三类：
1. 通知型光效
主要用于提醒用户有来电、短信或者应用通知。
它解决的问题是：手机有什么新消息？
2. 语音助手型光效
当用户唤醒语音助手时，通过光条、声波或渐变动画表示助手已经启动，并正在接收声音。
它解决的问题是：AI 有没有听见我？
3. 系统级 AI 交互光效
光效不再局限于语音唤醒，而是逐渐延伸到文字生成、屏幕识别、任务执行等场景。
它试图解决的问题是：AI 正在做什么？我如何知道它的状态？
这三种设计在视觉上可能非常相似，但背后的交互目的并不一样。
03｜从通知灯效到 AI 助手：一条时间线
1. 2015年：三星 Edge Lighting，边缘光效的早期探索
三星 Galaxy S6 Edge 在2015年推出了 Edge 屏幕交互设计。
当联系人来电或者发送消息时，手机的曲面边缘可以亮起对应颜色的光，帮助用户识别通知来源。
这还不是 AI 助手，但它已经展示了一种思路：
屏幕边缘不仅可以展示内容，也可以成为传递状态信息的区域。
参考：Samsung Global Newsroom：Galaxy S6 Edge 用户体验介绍
2. 2019年：Google Pixel 4，AI 助手开始使用彩色光效
2019年，Google Pixel 4 带来了新版 Google Assistant。
当用户唤醒 Assistant 时，Google 标志性的红、黄、绿、蓝四色光会从屏幕两侧汇聚到下方，形成一条动态光带。
它不仅仅是一种装饰。
光效会随着用户说话发生变化，让用户知道 Assistant 已经准备好接收指令。
与三星此前的通知光效相比，这已经是更明确的 AI 交互反馈。
不过，它主要集中在屏幕底部，还不是后来苹果那种环绕整个屏幕的光圈。
参考：9to5Google：The new Google Assistant on Pixel 4（2019）
3. 2024年6月：Apple Intelligence，新版 Siri 的全屏边缘光效
2024年6月10日，苹果在 WWDC 2024 上正式展示 Apple Intelligence。
新版 Siri 的视觉设计发生了明显变化。
当 Siri 被激活时，屏幕四周会出现柔和的彩色光晕，并且能够随着用户的声音产生动态变化。
与传统语音助手需要打开独立界面不同，新版 Siri 可以在用户当前使用的界面中被唤醒。
用户不必离开正在浏览的网页、阅读的文章或者正在使用的应用，就能继续与 Siri 交互。
2024年10月28日，Apple Intelligence 开始正式推出首批功能，新版 Siri 的视觉设计也随之进入实际产品体验。
这是目前能够明确核实的、苹果全屏边缘 Siri 光效的公开展示和正式推出时间。
参考：
- Apple WWDC 2024：Introducing Apple Intelligence
- Apple：Apple Intelligence is available today（2024年10月28日）
4. 2025年：vivo OriginOS 6，AI 光效开始成为一套视觉语言
2025年10月，vivo 发布 OriginOS 6。
在这一版本中，vivo 将 AI 光效作为一套系统级视觉体验进行介绍。
根据 vivo 官方的功能说明，AI 光效覆盖多个场景：
- 语音唤醒；
- 内置输入法；
- AI 功能卡片；
- 文字生成；
- 圈搜与图片识别；
- 全局语音海浪；
- 面板、文字和卡片海浪；
- 环境光与语音声波互动。
这里有一个值得注意的地方。
vivo 所说的 AI 光效，并不只是一圈固定的彩虹色边框，而是包含不同 AI 功能场景的动态效果。
它试图通过光影、粒子和波浪等视觉元素，让 AI 的交互过程更容易被感知。
参考：
04｜所以，究竟是谁先做出来的？
整理资料之后，我发现这个问题不能简单地用一个品牌名称回答。
如果比较的是屏幕边缘发光：
三星早在2015年就有用于通知的 Edge Lighting。
如果比较的是 AI 语音助手的彩色光效：
Google Pixel 4 在2019年就已经采用了四色动态光带。
如果比较的是苹果现在使用的全屏边缘 Siri 光晕：
苹果在2024年6月公开展示，并于同年10月正式推出。
而 vivo 在2025年发布的 OriginOS 6 中，将 AI 光效扩展成了覆盖多个 AI 场景的视觉设计体系。
因此，就苹果 Siri 的全屏边缘光效与 OriginOS 6 的公开发布时间而言，苹果确实更早。
但这并不能证明 vivo 抄袭苹果。
两种设计虽然在视觉上存在相似之处，但具体的动画形态、应用场景、交互逻辑和技术实现仍然需要分别研究。
视觉相似不等于设计来源相同，发布时间也不能直接证明设计借鉴关系。
这也是我觉得这次研究比较有意思的地方：原本想比较谁先有，最后却发现，我们需要先定义自己究竟在比较什么。
05｜为什么 AI 助手开始使用光效？
查阅这些案例之后，我开始思考另一个问题。
为什么 AI 助手不继续使用传统的弹窗、文字框或者语音波形，而越来越倾向于采用屏幕边缘光效？
我认为至少有三个值得讨论的原因。
1. 减少对当前任务的干扰
假设我正在阅读一篇文章，突然想让 AI 帮我解释其中一个概念。
如果每次唤醒助手都需要打开一个完整的聊天页面，就会打断原来的阅读过程。
屏幕边缘光效提供了一种相对轻量的视觉反馈。
它可以在不完全覆盖当前界面的情况下，让用户知道 AI 已经被唤醒。
2. 让 AI 的状态变得可见
传统的聊天机器人通常通过文字告诉用户自己正在处理请求。
但当 AI 开始执行更复杂的任务时，仅仅显示一个加载动画可能已经不够。
例如：
- 正在倾听用户的指令；
- 正在理解当前屏幕内容；
- 正在搜索信息；
- 正在跨应用执行任务；
- 已经完成操作；
- 遇到错误，需要用户确认。
不同状态如果能够通过视觉反馈清楚地区分，用户就更容易理解系统正在做什么。
这与交互设计中的一个经典原则有关：系统状态可见性（Visibility of System Status）。
界面应该及时告诉用户系统发生了什么，而不是让用户猜测。
3. 让 AI 从工具变成一种持续存在的交互对象
过去，用户需要主动打开一个应用，才能使用其中的功能。
现在，AI 助手逐渐融入操作系统，可以在不同应用和场景中提供帮助。
它不再只是一个需要主动打开的聊天窗口，而是可能随时响应用户的需求。
因此，视觉设计也开始发生变化。
光效、声波、动态粒子和环境光等元素，让 AI 有了一种更加连续的视觉存在感。
当然，这也带来一个问题：
如果 AI 只是不断发光，却没有真正提供有效的帮助，那么这些动画最终也可能沦为装饰。
06｜光效真的能让 AI 更好用吗？
这是我认为比追溯发布时间更值得研究的问题。
一个漂亮的动画，并不意味着它一定是好的交互设计。
例如，当手机边缘出现一圈蓝紫色光效时，用户能否准确判断：
- AI 已经听到我的声音了吗？
- 它正在处理我的问题，还是还在等待？
- 它有没有开始执行操作？
- 任务是否已经完成？
- 如果执行失败，我应该怎么办？
如果这些问题仍然无法回答，那么光效可能只是增加了视觉吸引力，却没有真正提高交互效率。
我认为，一套比较完整的 AI 状态反馈设计，至少应该考虑以下几个阶段：
| AI 状态 | 应该传达的信息 |
|---|---|
| 待命 | 当前没有正在进行的 AI 任务 |
| 倾听 | AI 正在接收用户输入 |
| 理解 | AI 正在处理用户的请求 |
| 执行 | AI 正在进行具体操作 |
| 完成 | AI 已经完成任务，并呈现结果 |
| 失败 | 操作未完成，需要说明原因 |
而且，不应该只依赖颜色区分状态，还应该结合动画节奏、文字提示、图标和可操作按钮。
例如，用户让 AI 帮忙整理文件时，屏幕上出现持续流动的彩色光圈，并不能说明文件整理到了哪一步。
但如果光效与具体任务步骤相结合，用户就可能更容易理解执行进度。
这才是我认为 AI 光效未来真正值得探索的方向。
07｜从一次日常交流，到一个新的研究方向
最初，我只是因为朋友的一句话，想知道苹果和 vivo 谁先有类似的光效。
但查阅资料之后，我发现自己真正感兴趣的已经不只是彩虹光圈本身。
我开始关注：
- AI 如何通过视觉反馈表达自己的状态？
- 不同品牌如何建立自己的 AI 视觉语言？
- 动画如何在不打断用户操作的情况下提供反馈？
- AI Agent 执行复杂任务时，应该如何让过程变得透明？
- 用户能否通过视觉反馈真正理解和控制 AI？
这些问题已经超出了手机系统动效的范围。
它们实际上涉及下一代 AI 产品的交互方式。
我也想把这个研究继续延伸到 Lumi Lab。
下一步，我计划尝试设计三种不同的 AI 状态反馈方案：
A. 纯文字与图标反馈。
B. 屏幕边缘渐变光效。
C. 根据 AI 不同任务状态变化的动态光效。
通过 HTML 制作可以实际操作的原型，再比较不同方案在状态理解、操作干扰和用户控制感方面的差异。
我希望最终能够回答一个问题：
AI 是否真的需要发光？如果需要，它应该在什么时候发光，又应该如何发光？
参考资料
- Samsung Global Newsroom. Intuitive and Streamlined User Experience of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, 2015.
- 9to5Google. Review: The new Google Assistant on Pixel 4, 2019.
- Apple Newsroom. Introducing Apple Intelligence for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, June 10, 2024.
- Apple Newsroom. Apple Intelligence is available today on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, October 28, 2024.
- vivo Official Website. OriginOS 6 and AI 光效功能说明, 2025.
注：本文比较的是公开发布的产品功能和视觉交互设计，不对不同厂商之间是否存在设计借鉴关系作未经证实的判断。不同机型、系统版本、地区及语言设置可能影响实际功能体验。
From a small chat between two phones to the visual language of smartphone AI.
01 | A small discovery about a glowing ring
Yesterday, a friend updated the system on his iPhone 17.
After the update, when Apple Intelligence’s Siri is invoked, a ring of colorful, flowing light appears around the edges of the screen.
I glanced at it and thought it looked familiar.
My vivo X300e has had a similar effect since the day I bought it.
I mentioned this offhand, and my friend told me, “Apple already had this glow before.”
That made me curious: when did this effect actually appear? Is Apple really earlier than vivo? Do other phone brands have similar designs?
What started as an inconspicuous visual detail between two phones turned into a question worth researching.
Why are more and more phone AI assistants expressing their presence with colorful light?
I started digging through system versions, product launch materials, and the interaction design of AI assistants across brands. As the material piled up, I realized that this seemingly simple rainbow ring actually touches system design, visual language, and human-computer interaction.
This article starts from that everyday conversation and tries to trace how AI light effects on phones have evolved.
02 | First, are we even talking about the same kind of glow?
Before comparing brands, I think a few easily confused concepts need separating.
Light emitting from a phone’s screen edge is not a design born in the AI era.
Early phones already had notification LEDs and curved-screen edge lighting. They also used different colors of light, but their purpose isn’t quite the same as today’s AI assistant effects.
I’ll tentatively sort them into three types:
1. Notification glow
Mainly used to remind the user of incoming calls, messages, or app notifications.
The problem it solves: what’s new on the phone?
2. Voice-assistant glow
When the user invokes a voice assistant, light bars, waveforms, or gradient animations signal that the assistant has started and is receiving sound.
The problem it solves: did the AI hear me?
3. System-level AI interaction glow
The glow is no longer limited to voice invocation; it extends to text generation, screen recognition, task execution, and other scenarios.
The problem it tries to solve: what is the AI doing? How do I know its status?
These three can look very similar visually, but their interaction purposes are different.
03 | From notification lights to AI assistants: a timeline
1. 2015: Samsung Edge Lighting, an early experiment with edge glow
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge introduced the Edge screen interaction design in 2015.
When a contact calls or sends a message, the phone’s curved edge can light up in a color tied to that person, helping the user identify the source of the notification.
This wasn’t an AI assistant yet, but it already demonstrated an idea:
the screen edge is not only a place to show content — it can also be an area that communicates state.
Reference: Samsung Global Newsroom: Intuitive and Streamlined User Experience of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge
2. 2019: Google Pixel 4, an AI assistant starts using color
In 2019, the Google Pixel 4 shipped the new Google Assistant.
When the user invokes the Assistant, Google’s signature red, yellow, green, and blue light flows in from both sides of the screen and converges at the bottom into a dynamic band of light.
It is not merely decoration.
The effect changes as the user speaks, letting them know the Assistant is ready to take a command.
Compared with Samsung’s earlier notification glow, this is much more clearly AI interaction feedback.
That said, it mostly stayed at the bottom of the screen — not yet the full ring around the display that Apple later used.
Reference: 9to5Google: The new Google Assistant on Pixel 4 (2019)
3. June 2024: Apple Intelligence, the new Siri’s full-screen edge glow
On June 10, 2024, Apple officially introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024.
The new Siri’s visual design changed noticeably.
When Siri is activated, a soft colorful glow appears around the edges of the screen and shifts dynamically with the user’s voice.
Unlike traditional voice assistants that require opening a separate interface, the new Siri can be invoked within whatever the user is currently doing.
You don’t have to leave the webpage you’re browsing, the article you’re reading, or the app you’re using to keep interacting with Siri.
On October 28, 2024, the first Apple Intelligence features officially rolled out, and the new Siri’s visual design entered real product experience.
This is the earliest publicly verifiable date for both the public demonstration and the official release of Apple’s full-screen edge Siri glow.
References:
- Apple WWDC 2024: Introducing Apple Intelligence
- Apple: Apple Intelligence is available today (October 28, 2024)
4. 2025: vivo OriginOS 6, AI glow becomes a visual language
In October 2025, vivo released OriginOS 6.
In this version, vivo presents AI light effects as a system-level visual experience.
According to vivo’s official feature documentation, the AI glow covers multiple scenarios:
- voice invocation;
- the built-in keyboard;
- AI feature cards;
- text generation;
- circle-to-search and image recognition;
- global voice waves;
- panel, text, and card waves;
- ambient light interacting with voice waveforms.
One thing worth noting here.
What vivo calls AI light effects is not just a fixed rainbow border — it is a set of dynamic effects spanning different AI feature scenarios.
It tries to use light, particles, and waves to make the AI’s interaction process easier to perceive.
References:
04 | So, who actually did it first?
After sorting through the material, I found this question can’t be answered with a single brand name.
If we compare “screen edges that light up”:
Samsung had Edge Lighting for notifications as early as 2015.
If we compare “colorful glow for an AI voice assistant”:
The Google Pixel 4 already used a four-color dynamic light band in 2019.
If we compare “the full-screen edge Siri glow Apple uses now”:
Apple publicly demonstrated it in June 2024 and officially shipped it that October.
And in OriginOS 6, released in 2025, vivo expanded AI glow into a visual design system covering multiple AI scenarios.
So, in terms of the public release dates of Apple’s full-screen edge Siri glow versus OriginOS 6, Apple was indeed earlier.
But that doesn’t prove vivo copied Apple.
Although the two designs look similar, their specific animation forms, use scenarios, interaction logic, and technical implementation each need separate study.
Visual similarity does not mean shared design origin, and release dates alone cannot prove design borrowing.
This is what I find most interesting about this research: I set out to compare who did it first, and ended up discovering that we first need to define what we are actually comparing.
05 | Why are AI assistants starting to glow?
After going through these cases, I started thinking about another question.
Why do AI assistants increasingly adopt screen-edge glow, instead of sticking with traditional popups, text boxes, or voice waveforms?
I think there are at least three reasons worth discussing.
1. Less interruption to the task at hand
Suppose I’m reading an article and suddenly want AI to explain a concept in it.
If invoking the assistant always opens a full chat page, it breaks the original reading flow.
Screen-edge glow offers a relatively lightweight visual feedback.
It can tell the user the AI has been awakened without fully covering the current interface.
2. Making the AI’s state visible
Traditional chatbots usually tell users they are processing a request through text.
But as AI begins executing more complex tasks, a simple loading animation may no longer be enough.
For example:
- listening to the user’s command;
- understanding the content on the current screen;
- searching for information;
- executing tasks across apps;
- finished operating;
- hit an error and needs the user’s confirmation.
If different states can be clearly distinguished through visual feedback, users can more easily understand what the system is doing.
This connects to a classic principle in interaction design: visibility of system status.
The interface should promptly tell users what is happening, rather than leaving them to guess.
3. Turning AI from a tool into a continuously present interaction partner
In the past, users had to actively open an app to use its features.
Now, AI assistants are gradually merging into the operating system and can help across different apps and scenarios.
It is no longer just a chat window you open on demand — it may respond to your needs at any moment.
So visual design is changing too.
Light effects, waveforms, dynamic particles, and ambient light give AI a more continuous visual presence.
Of course, this raises a problem:
if the AI just keeps glowing without genuinely helping, these animations may end up as mere decoration.
06 | Does glow actually make AI better to use?
To me, this question is more worth researching than tracing release dates.
A beautiful animation does not guarantee good interaction design.
For example, when a blue-violet glow appears around the phone’s edge, can the user accurately tell:
- has the AI heard my voice?
- is it processing my question, or still waiting?
- has it started executing anything?
- is the task finished?
- if it failed, what should I do?
If these questions still can’t be answered, the glow may only add visual appeal without improving interaction efficiency.
I believe a reasonably complete AI status feedback design should cover at least these stages:
| AI state | What it should communicate |
|---|---|
| Idle | No AI task currently running |
| Listening | The AI is receiving user input |
| Understanding | The AI is processing the request |
| Acting | The AI is performing a specific operation |
| Done | The AI has finished and is presenting the result |
| Failed | The operation didn’t complete; the reason should be explained |
And states shouldn’t rely on color alone — they should also combine animation rhythm, text prompts, icons, and actionable buttons.
For example, when a user asks AI to organize files, a continuously flowing rainbow ring says nothing about which step the organization has reached.
But if the glow is tied to concrete task steps, users may find it much easier to understand progress.
That, I think, is the direction truly worth exploring for AI glow in the future.
07 | From an everyday chat to a new research direction
Initially, I just wanted to know whether Apple or vivo had this glow first, all because of one remark from a friend.
But after the research, what I’m truly interested in is no longer just the rainbow ring itself.
I’ve started paying attention to:
- How does AI express its state through visual feedback?
- How do different brands establish their own AI visual language?
- How can animation provide feedback without interrupting the user’s flow?
- When an AI agent executes complex tasks, how should the process be made transparent?
- Can users genuinely understand and control AI through visual feedback?
These questions go beyond phone system animations.
They are really about the interaction patterns of the next generation of AI products.
I also want to extend this research into Lumi Lab.
Next, I plan to design three different AI status feedback schemes:
A. Text and icon feedback only.
B. A gradient glow along the screen edge.
C. Dynamic glow that changes with the AI’s task state.
I’ll build operable prototypes in HTML, then compare the schemes on status comprehension, interruption, and the user’s sense of control.
Ultimately, I hope to answer one question:
Does AI really need to glow? If it does, when should it glow — and how?
References
- Samsung Global Newsroom. Intuitive and Streamlined User Experience of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, 2015.
- 9to5Google. Review: The new Google Assistant on Pixel 4, 2019.
- Apple Newsroom. Introducing Apple Intelligence for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, June 10, 2024.
- Apple Newsroom. Apple Intelligence is available today on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, October 28, 2024.
- vivo Official Website. OriginOS 6 and AI light effects feature notes, 2025.
Note: this article compares publicly released product features and visual interaction designs. It makes no unverified claims about whether design borrowing exists between vendors. Different models, system versions, regions, and language settings may affect the actual feature experience.