[philosopherlawr]

The author is wrong that Google and Microsoft don't do this level of illustration - they do and have for a while. They just do it on their home search screens, not on their App Stores

[bitmapbrother]

Google Play usually has a new custom illustration for every promotion. The current one is Big in Japan.

https://play.google.com/store/apps

[janekm]

Do you have some examples? I have not encountered either. I'm familiar with bing showcasing interesting photos, which is fun, but not at all comparable to an editorial team commissioning graphical illustration for their content.

[hbosch]

Believe the parent is referring to the iconic and world famous Google Doodles.

[kevin_thibedeau]

The Android weather widget has an illustrated frog.