Forget the iPhone sock! Gemini’s helping me design an all-new Pixel carrying accessory

Apple and Google are tech heavyweights that each have their own strengths, but survey a few people about who’s better at product design — at least aesthetically — and Apple’s probably going to stand out as the favorite. The company’s had some real successes over the years challenging our expectations about how things should look, and this week it’s up to more of the same with one of its oddest launches in years: an iPhone… sock?

Formally the iPhone Pocket, this colorful knit sling is available in two sizes (both obscenely expensive) and goes up for sale this Friday. The second the internet saw this thing on Tuesday morning, its collective head exploded, and no matter where we look we’re seeing some very strong opinions about it — everyone seems to either love it or hate it, with little room for indecision.

Personally, I really dig it, but I’m also someone who already stores phones in socks for safekeeping while traveling — so this was clearly designed with me in mind. I’m also a stalwart Android guy, though, and if I’m going to outfit my phone with a bizarre new carrying solution, I’m going to want it to be Google to the core. That’s why I’m firing up Gemini (with a little help from Nano Banana) and seeing what we can come up with that might work for Google’s response to the iPhone Sock Pocket.

Let’s see, where to start? Well, the holidays are coming up, and I can easily think of something sock-adjacent that might be cool to have in a tiny smartphone size: a Pixel stocking!

OK, that’s pretty cute, and while we’re firmly in “sock” territory, it’s also not exactly something great for carrying around.

What about sticking with that winter theme but dialing things in a little closer to Apple’s knit approach? A scarf!

That actually looks really nice, if not a little big. Almost like a smartphone bib, more than scarf?

Gemini likes to play fast and loose with its depiction of Pixel phones, so we’ll try not to get too hung up on these camera bar hallucinations. You can keep uploading Pixel 10 images to Gemini in an attempt to remind it what it’s shooting for — and its results briefly get better, but tend to quickly lose coherence.

You know, let’s back up to my “bib” observation a second ago. What’s the adult version of that? An apron, of course:

Oh my god, take my money, already! Android green? Bugdroid up front? And smartphone-friendly pockets? It’s everything the modern chef needs.

As much as I love my apron here, I feel like I’m starting to drift a bit away from my initial target. It’s still a wearable phone-holder, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not quite that strappy vibe Apple got us started with. Let’s refocus our efforts.

Alright, now that looks like a nice and practical solution. Battery running low? Just pull out your next phone!

OK, maybe “practical” is pushing it, but I like what we’re seeing here. Let’s keep iterating along this line and…

Oh. Hmm. That, um. Well, at least the phones are nice and accessible? And you could use it like a bodycam, I guess?

Fun as that one might be, I’m steering this ship back in a more sensible direction.

This one totally looks like something you could pick up today on Google’s merch shop, and while it’s passing the believability test, I have to concede —  this isn’t really stylish, or at least not in any way close to Apple’s solution.

Maybe that’s the trick here: striking a balance between practicality and novelty. OK, Gemini, give us a little pizzazz:

Maybe I’ll just buy the iPhone sock tomorrow, after all.