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Google rolled out a whole new set of (uggo) icons for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet last month, and now it's Keep's turn. As teased at the beginning of October, the much-loved and Google app-integrated notes service just picked up a new icon at the desktop site, and we have to assume the app will follow.
Google 'updates' Docs, Sheets, and Slides app icons by placing them on big white plates
When Google announced G Suite successor Workspace, it also took the opportunity to update the icons of its productivity apps.
When Google announced G Suite successor Workspace, it also took the opportunity to update the icons of its productivity apps, both for consumers and businesses. The new designs are slowly rolling out and have already reached Gmail, Drive, Meet, and Chat on many people's phones and computers. The latest design updates to hit Android phones are the Docs, Sheets, and Slides icons, and boy, they're a regression.
Apple Music 3.4 now rolling out to everyone, with iOS 14 features in tow (APK Download)
New icon, new Listen Now section, autoplay, new search, and so much more
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Apple is preparing to launch iOS 14, and that means there are updates incoming for all of its system apps, including Music. It looks like the company is working on bringing over these latest changes to Android as soon as possible, as the latest Apple Music beta v3.4 already sports almost all of the new stuff that will come to iOS 14: there's a new icon, improved search, autoplay, and Listen Now, which replaces the For You section of old.
eBay's dark mode is official, rolling out to everyone through July
There have also been refinements to iconography and fonts
Phones are only slowly getting updated to Android 10, which is the first iteration of the OS that introduced a proper system-wide dark theme. That's why developers are only slowly adding the eye-soothing mode to their applications, but now a popular sales platform is finally on board with a new color variation: eBay. The e-commerce giant has announced that it's launching a dark mode for its Android (and iOS) app.
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For many, Google Maps has become an indispensable tool for finding restaurants, exploring new cities, sightseeing, and navigation. Some younger folks probably can't imagine a world without the service, but yet, Maps has only turned 15 today. To celebrate the occasion, Google has refreshed its product with a new icon, a redesign, and improved bottom bar categories.
When Microsoft released its Edge web browser in 2015, Edge's logo looked quite a lot like Internet Explorer's. Microsoft is now working on a new Chromium-based Edge, and it wants another new logo to go with it, which has now been revealed publicly.
If you were hoping that Google Lens's latest update would bring all the new features that were promised at I/O, you will need to hold your breath a little longer. It's true that a new version of the app began rolling out yesterday, but it brings nothing of substance beside a new icon. And we've been getting enough tips about it that we just had to write this up.
It's been two years since Android O introduced adaptive icons, and many apps and developers have yet to get with the program. You look at your homescreen and app drawer and realize that even though you're using a circular or square or teardrop mask, some apps keep whatever icon shape they wanted. Until recently, Spotify was one of those. Now the app is rolling out an adaptive icon and it's... exactly what we don't want.
Google recently started handing out free music via Play Music again, and we're glad to see the trend back. Almost none of the music is the kind that most of us usually listen to, but hey, free is free. This time around, we've got a pretty wide variety, from jazz to Dutch pop.
Moving the Google search box to the bottom of the Pixel launcher was a divisive change, although it makes complete sense to me. From the moment the first developer preview of Android P was released, Google began messing around with unimportant things like the transparency of the launcher dock, but one useful little addition was that of a microphone icon in the search widget that could be used to summon the Assistant. As of the latest (and final) developer preview, the mic has vanished.
Google just dropped the fifth developer preview of Android P and there aren't an awful lot of changes for us to pick through. That makes sense since it's the last beta before the final release later in the year, which we can expect to look very much like it does right now. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed one small change, however, in the shape of a new auto-rotate icon.
Free music seems to be making a comeback on Google Play Music. Once a relic of the past, free albums made a reappearance last week with Ariana Grande's "My Everything" and an ICON album featuring The Beach Boys. Four more ICON albums with Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, and KISS can now be picked up for $0.00 from Play Music as well.
Google Play Music used to offer free albums every few weeks. It looked like a win-win for everyone: users could get some free tunes, and Play Music would attract people who might not have used the service otherwise. Perhaps Google didn't feel that it was worth doing anymore, as we hadn't seen anything of the sort for over two years. But now, albums from Ariana Grande and The Beach Boys are just $0 from Play Music.
Twitter is no stranger to server-side tests, and now the company appears to have another in the wings. AP's own Artem noticed a bit of a tweak in Twitter for Android in recent days, with a new three-dot share button appearing at the bottom of tweets. All the sharing options previously present in the arrow menu to a tweet's top right have been relocated to this button, and the previous "send privately" option is now gone.
Android 8.1 has quite a few minor changes, ranging from a new easter egg to the new dimming navigation bar. Another small tweak is the icon for Android System notifications, which are used to display messages about updates, debugging, and other similar functions.
One of the best things about Android is the ability to customize it. You aren't locked into a particular look, from replacement launchers to icon packs, you can change things to fit your tastes quite extensively. With the new Icon Pack Mixer, a recently-launched app from the developer of Adapticons, you can even take that a step further. It lets you mix and match individual icons from various packs into one. Now you can pick and choose different ones from different sets without compromising, even if your launcher doesn't natively support it.
As you might know, Chrome for Android allows you to save websites on your home screen for easy access. The first Android O Developer Preview added support for a new 'Adaptive icons' feature, and Chrome now appears to be taking advantage of it for home screen shortcuts.
Customization is one of the best parts of Android. Even if you have the same phone as someone else, your home screen, icons, and perhaps system theme can look entirely different. While I haven't personally used icon packs in a while (my launcher of choice is the Pixel Launcher), they still remain very popular.
The site looks great in static form, but check it out in action:
Yesterday was a frenzy-filled day, what with the new Pixel phones, Google Home, and more being announced; however, not every day can be as exciting. Today, Google's Opinion Rewards application for Android has been updated with a new icon, a blue color scheme, and a new notification icon. Fun stuff.