[Quoth]

You need SOME white space. But excessive white space makes interfaces and reading very difficult.

If Google (Android), Gnome team, Amazon, Kobo, MS etc are doing usability research they either need to accept it or fire the managers. Because it doesn't look like it. They have ditched basic principles proven again and again for over 50 years for the sake of novelty, a false idea that "New = Modern = better" and that an aesthetic based on a false concept of graphic design elegance = usability. The Windows 3.1 with 3D upgrade and Win9x/NT 4.0 and Mac OS 9 are all far superior to Win 10 and Win3.x to Win7 was more user configurable. The Ribbon and hiding less used menu items were two of the stupidest GUI ideas MS ever had. You need to easily find things you use once a month or per year.

Android has crippled with "material design" style guide lines and the idea that you dismiss a popup by tap/click on the background instead of [ X ] on top corner or a Cancel button.

Skinny scroll bars, or auto-hide scroll bars or scroll bars that should be two arrow buttons are all stupid.
The Android 4.x time / date was overly compact (up down arrows) but the rotatory dial / pulling clock hands is dreadfull.

Too skeuomorphic (like a photo) is wrong, but totally abstracted and totally flat, even on eink, is worse.

GUIs where links and buttons are just text.

Settings forms that have no Save / Cancel, but changes are sort of instant or when you close it (which might be Back, "[X] button" or activate background.
Check boxes represented by slide switches that are tapped or clicked. May be so minimalist that the only convention is Left = off.
Ungrouped "radio buttons"

It's terrible. Teenagers could research and design better.