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Google News on smartphones finally picks up Material You makeover
Another step toward completing the rollout across Google's apps
While Google has increased its efforts to roll out the Material You aesthetic to a number of its very own apps including Gmail, Maps, and Photos, a number of others like the Google News app on smartphones have yet to receive the treatment. But after all this time, the company is now finally making due for News users as they get a new look that's been in the works for about a year, maybe even more.
Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1 adds a touch of gray to Material You
In its midlife crisis, Android rubs its stubble
When it comes to looks, Android has historically provided tons of customizability. Take monochromatic theming: whether you have it turned on for certain apps to cut down your screen time on them or you just like the minimalism of it all, you're certainly not alone. But with Android 13 QPR2 Beta 1, we're learning of a new way to get all grayscale up on your home screen — that is, without having to having to go grayscale on your entire experience.
The Realme 9 Pro has a clever solution for when you can't decide what color phone to get
Ever heard of a 5-second tan?
Glass-based industrial design on smartphones may have just peaked. We've seen experiments in substrates, opacity, and reflections from the likes of Honor and HTC for years, but if the Realme 9 Pro does what Oppo's India-based brand (that's not just for India) says it does, we're in for a fun time with upcoming photo ops.
Gmail replaces its 'inbox zero' graphic to the relief of corporate art haters
But the new art? Hmm...
In news about banal skeuomorphic depictions of email, Gmail has updated its art for people who like achieving Inbox Zero. And if you've been invested in the discourse around minimalist — oversimplified, even — corporate revamps of brand identities like Discord and Firefox, well, you may think of this as a lateral move.
Google Photos sports some groovy new shapes for its Material You widgets (APK Download)
Look at all those curvy points!
Google Photos is passing along a taste of Material You to everyone, even if you don't have a Pixel with Android 12. The app has launched new widget shapes in line with the new design guidelines.
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Continuous scrolling is a contentious concept on the web. But most will agree that it can help make a tedious search for something seamless and less stressful, especially in the context of doing it all on your phone.
The Android team's excitement for its dessert anthology has cooled off in the few years, but that hasn't stopped hardcore fans from calling Android 10 "Quince Tart." In addition to the numbers, the alphabetically-ordered sweets helped us viscerally link the OS's progress and missteps with our attitudes toward them.
YouTube's latest user interface update isn't the one you were hoping for
Finally, some more consistency for the YouTube app
YouTube is a bit of a weird outlier when it comes to Android app design. While there are some interface inconsistencies among all Google apps, YouTube has long stood out as the app with a much shorter app header, a dated gray status bar, and more diversions from the norm. While its header retains its height for now, YouTube has at least finally added a seamless white status bar to its light theme.
Pastel color schemes that adapt to your taste and buttons with low-radius corners are the hallmarks of the Material You design scheme for Android and it's been taking over Google's apps one by one. We're now seeing a drip and a drop of its essence coming down to Maps.
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As we get closer to the official launch of Android 12, Google is updating more of its apps to support all of its new Material You themes. Gboard was one of the first to receive a makeover, with its fresh color scheme now available to anyone running the latest Android beta. However, it seems like the look isn't quite complete yet, as new Material You elements are on the way in an upcoming release.
Google Calendar is early for its Material You appointment
Its redesign is now available ahead of schedule
At this point, anyone running Android 12's beta on their phone has been flooded with Material You. As we're approaching a stable launch for Google's next major OS update, all of its apps are getting splashes of color, alongside some more extensive redesigns for certain services. Calendar's update was scheduled to arrive on Monday, but as with any good planner, it's arrived early to the party.
Signal beta gets some neat design tweaks and opens up payments to more users
MobileCoin payments are now available in Switzerland, France, and Germany
The latest beta version of the Signal Android app brings a few incremental design changes as well as an expansion to the privacy-focused payments it introduced back in April. MobileCoin transactions were only available to beta testers in the UK before, but they're now being rolled out to three more countries.
Material You is arriving to fancy up Google Calendar, Drive, and Meet real soon
The app equivalent to spraying multi-colored sticky notes in your cubicle
Pixel owners who've hopped on the Android 12 beta, be aware: the Material You look, with its short-radius curvy shapes, invasion of the Google Sans typeface, and complementary colorsets in muted pastels, is coming to a load of Google Workspace apps in the next several weeks.
That sleek new Google Messages for Wear OS UI is now rolling out
It was teased during Google I/O and now it's here
Google has been steadily updating its wearable apps with new designs and features for Wear OS 3, but in some cases, older watches can benefit from the updated apps as well. That's what's happening with Google Messages this week, as a brand-new version of the app is rolling out for Android smartwatches new and old.
Google Messages is getting a streamlined new attachments UI
The redesign is currently rolling out to some beta users
Google has been experimenting with various different approaches for attachments, emoji, gifs, and stickers in its SMS app in recent months. The latest incarnation is now being spotted in the beta version of Messages, replacing the blocky UI with more colorful and simplistic circular buttons.
YouTube's line art icons make the jump to your TV, complete with a new resolution button
Almost a year after they first came to Android
I don't know about our readers, but I spend a surprising amount of time watching YouTube on my television and not on my phone. With video length often pushing well past 30 minutes, throwing it up on the big screen like a TV show just feels right. It's taken a while, but that all-new line art look we've seen come to Android, the web, and even YouTube Music is finally coming to the TV interface — along with a better resolution indicator.
Chrome is getting a fresh Material makeover for its system pages
Settings, bookmarks, history, extensions, and downloads ditch the blue for an all-white aesthetic
It's been a few years now since Google gave Chrome one of its biggest makeovers to date — a perfect treat (for most) to celebrate the browser's first decade. Its Material makeover ditched the trapezoidal shapes and drab gray for a modern, rounded look that's more in line with Google's updated design system. However, the lack of theming in Chrome's system pages (settings and bookmarks, for example) is a testament to the absence of consistency in Google's implementation of Material Design. But with an upcoming change, it seems like the company finally wants to apply its attractive design language to Chrome in a consistent manner.
Good riddance to bubbles as Google's dialer app starts adopting 'chips' on Android 12
Goes great with fish
"Chat heads" have been roundly criticized by Android users as one of the most annoying user experiences and design aspects on the platform. Those peeved by the so-called bubbles may soon find at least some relief with Android 12, as Google's dialer app looks to go in a new direction with chips.
Android 12 Beta 4 makes notifications in landscape easier or harder to use
We screenshot, you decide (and complain)
Those using Android 12 Beta 4 in landscape orientation are looking at a lot more space and a lot less notification content today. As part of the new release, Google seems to have adjusted padding to the left and right of items in the notification shade while in landscape — a potential ergonomic and consistency boon, but it might upset those that actually liked the extra content.
The Pixel 6 is coming, and here are all Google's official photos and videos
We also made one video into a GIF because that's hotter
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have been revealed. We're discussing a whole bunch of topics surrounding today's festivities on Android Police, but this post's for the people who can't resist eye candy.