Whether you know it as Material theme or Material Design 2, Google continues to roll out its refreshed Material aesthetic across all of its various properties. The latest to gain the new look is the Google search app itself, which is rolling out a new bottom bar look that swaps out a search button for a shortcut to 'Collections,' where users can find saved content like images, bookmarks, and Maps lists. Additionally, the minimalist new look is coming to the search app's settings. If all that's not enough search-related news, one tipster has also given us a first look at the UI for 'Your contributions,' a search feature that's not live yet.

Left: new Google app design versus old design on right.

Beginning with the design refresh, you can see from the comparison above that the new bottom bar refresh puts focus on the Collections section and introduces a new ellipsis design for the More button. Under More, there's an updated, minimal menu with a stronger focus on data transparency. The More section nixes 'Recent' (which pops up recent searches and Feed selections), but adds 'Search Activity' and 'Your data in Search,' giving users a better view of their data footprint. The minimalist new look also extends to the settings section, which has fewer, but broader, categories now.

Left: new Google search settings versus old settings on the right.

As for the feature that shows user contributions, it's hidden from users for now, meaning it's still in an earlier stage of development. Our tipster was only able to find it by enabling experimental flags in the app. The section, called 'Your contributions,' appears in the More menu. Clicking on the section reveals a page that shows a tab for the user's reviews and a tab for their comments. This is actually not the first time we've spotted this — our own Cody Toombs found it in a September APK teardown.

'Your contributions' section.

The new look, however, is already rolling out to users. It appears to be a server-side switch, so forcing an update won't get you the new look, only a little time and patience. Still, if you're interested in the latest version, you can find it via the Google Play Store or on APK Mirror.

Thanks: Nick, Kieron