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Material You's dynamic theming might not be exclusive to Pixels for long
Google is poised to add it to AOSP after the initial release of Android 12
One of the headline features of Android 12, at least on Pixel phones, is the new Material You design language and its core component, the "Monet" theming system. It takes a quite unconventional approach to Android theming, automatically assembling a color palette based on a user's wallpaper and applying it all over the UI. That's fine for Google's own phones, but what about those from other manufacturers? Although this theming system won't hit AOSP in time for Android 12, it now looks like Google is planning to make dynamic theming open-source for a future Android release.
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.
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.
Google just added three gorgeous new Pixel wallpapers
Created to celebrate International Friendship Day — aww
Google's Pixel wallpapers can be a bit hit-and-miss, especially compared to the excellent selection in Chrome OS. However, a new batch of three walls just arrived on Pixels that are pretty dang nice, especially when paired with Android 12's Material You dynamic accent colors.
Google's polishing up its emoji — probably for Android 12
Nearly everything outside of faces has been tweaked or entirely redrawn
Google delivers its Android and Chrome OS emoji through the open source Noto Emoji project, and its latest release is a big one. Our last update arrived back in September, and now this new revision is making tweaks all over: refining colors and textures, updating shading and positioning, and covering everything from numbers and symbols, to fruits and veggies.
Android 12's sparkly ripples are (mostly) gone in Beta 3
Just like actual glitter, you can never clean it all up
Android 12 is one of the most significant redesigns we've seen in years, but not every change has been for the better. Google added a new sparkle effect to taps in Beta 1, but users found it confusing enough to be mistaken for a bug. After promising to dial down the sparkles in future revisions — and not really changing much in last month's Beta 2 — Google has finally returned most of the ripples to normal in its latest update.
Google backtracks on Android 12's new ripple effect after users confuse it for a bug
It's intended behavior, but not everyone is happy about it
Wide-ranging visual changes are arriving with Android 12, all part of Google's brand-new Material You design system. Reactions to this have, on the whole, been pretty positive, but there are some aspects of it that aren't quite so popular. Animations are getting a lot of attention, since they've remained unchanged for so long, and the new ripple effect, in particular, isn't going down so well.
Apple forced Google to re-think widgets for Android 12
A revamped Widgets API will hopefully encourage developers to up their game
When Apple announced that it was bringing widgets to iOS, it was hard not to be a little bit jealous as an Android user. Yes, we've had widgets since the beginning, but they've been so badly neglected for so long that most of them look awful — even Google's own — and there's no consistency in the way work. iPhone widgets are much more rigid and they look a lot better for it. Thankfully, Google is finally giving widgets the attention they've long needed.
Everything you need to know about Android 12's big Material You redesign
The biggest shakeup to Google's design language in years
Google unveiled Material Design at I/O back in 2014. An overarching design system was much-needed — it brought consistency to Google's digital products and allowed developers to easily build apps that looked at home on Android and the web. It has evolved a great deal over the years, but the next major iteration is upon us and it's going to be the biggest overhaul since it launched. Material You, as the name suggests, is all about personalization, and it's coming first to Google Pixels with Android 12 later this year.
Last year, YouTube shed its lifeless, gray in-app icons for more visually distinct line-art ones. It seems like sister app YouTube Music might not be too far from getting the same treatment — the new icons are already being tested.
Instagram revamps its bottom bar, putting Reels and Shop front and center
It also tweaked icons and layouts while it was at it
After successfully cloning Snapchat's Stories, Instagram is pushing hard to break into the next market. Not too long ago, it introduced its TikTok copy Reels, which is currently rolling out to users worldwide. To put the new format front and center, Instagram has formally announced that it will now get a fixed place in the bottom bar along with a new Shop section.
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YouTube is arguably the world's largest visual platform, and from redesigning the playback UI on Android TV to adding a new button in the bottom navigation bar, the YouTube team is continually looking for ways to improve the interface. The icons used in the Android app haven't seen major changes since the 2017 material refresh, but now it looks like a significant revamp is rolling out to everyone — and it's not necessarily a change for the better.
You have a meeting with Google's new Calendar icon (APK Download)
And you can only reschedule it for so long, so might as well get it out of the way now
When Google revamped G Suite with a new name earlier this month, it gave makeovers to a number of existing logos as well. Not everyone is a fan of the new look, but like it or not, the new icons have started to show up on a phone near you. It started with the Drive icon, then a wild Gmail icon appeared last week. Now Google Calendar is joining the fray, and you can get the update containing the new logo right now.
Assistant is one of Google's most important products, found on everything from TVs to watches. Over the years it's gotten a bit fragmented, though, with different UIs and capabilities depending on which device you're using. Thankfully, it looks like Google is currently rolling out an update which unifies the interface across phones running both the old and new versions of Assistant.
Google Play Store takes hamburgers off the menu in latest UI test
This is probably better for gesture navigation and big screens
The Google Play Store is one of the most important apps on any phone, which is probably why Google is always tweaking it here and there. Last year, the Play Store received its biggest visual overhaul in a while, and this summer the app starting rolling out new search filters and experimenting with a redesign of the My Apps screen. In this latest test, Google is getting rid of the Play Store's hamburger menu.
Google Meet has picked up a bunch of new features recently, including polling and Q&A abilities. When the Meet tab rolled out in Gmail earlier this summer, it brought a new UI with it. The iOS Meet app adopted it last month, and today, Google is announcing that same experience is now coming to the standard Meet app on Android.
Google's new icons for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet all look the same
Thanks for making them so easily distinguishable, Googz
As part of its announcement of G Suite's rebranding to Google Workspace, Google introduced a new visual identity and five redesigned icons for some of its popular services: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet. The icons, as you can see them above, are similar to what we've come to expect from Google — and perhaps a little too similar at that.
Wikipedia's desktop site is getting its first redesign in a decade
A new emphasis on letting content take centerstage
Wikipedia is one of the cornerstones of the internet, a place that we've probably all visited to learn about new topics or find statistics to win a forum debate. While the mobile app has seen design improvements over the years, the desktop site has remained virtually unchanged since 2010 — that's the same year the Nexus One debuted. After almost a decade, Wikipedia is finally ready for a refresh.
Google resuscitates its Material Design blog to let you know why your app's ugly and annoying to use
Edited by a familiar face
Fans of Google's so-called Material Design should take note of today's news. AP alum Liam Spradlin is resuscitating Google's Material blog as its new Editor. Today alone, eight new posts were published (more than went up in the last two years), covering subjects from color and typography to shape and transitions, written in terms both developers and design enthusiasts can appreciate and use — ideally, to help make better apps.
Facebook's new web interface is here for all, complete with dark mode
Finally a look that embraces Facebook's role as the darkest spot on the internet
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Back at F8 2019, Facebook promised a redesign for its mobile apps and website. The Android app started receiving the new interface almost immediately, but the change was only promised on the web in "the next few months." Now, it's starting to roll out and along with it comes a new dark mode option.