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Facebook's new logo is here, and it's just as unimaginative as you'd expect
Another Facebook redesign? Cue the dramatic gasp
In what seems like the billionth episode of Tech Companies Revamp Their Logos, Facebook is at it again, pushing forward with a flat design aesthetic. It's almost as if all the major tech powerhouses, including the usual suspects of Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have formed a club — slowly but surely so as not to arouse suspicion, they’ve each vowed to reduce their logo's details until it's a simple dot on the screen. And let's face it, Facebook is striving to be the club president.
YouTube Music remixes For You Mixes cover art with personalized artists
Good cover art makes all the difference
Several weeks ago, a revised version of the 'Add to playlist' screen began rolling out to some YouTube Music users. Not only was it more attractive, but the look is more consistent with the rest of the app — and also the main YouTube app. Some buggy behavior seems to have slowed the rollout, but things appear to be back on track as many people are reporting that it's hitting their devices.
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There's nothing Google loves more than to experiment with redesigns. With the power of server-side updates, you'll often see one of your most-used apps flash an all-new look — before it disappears in the blink of an eye. That's what happened earlier this summer when the classic hamburger menu began disappearing from Google Weather's search bar. After flipping the switch off and on a few times, it seems its redesign is finally here to stay.
You can now find your recent search activity in Google Collections
Giving you quick access to recently saved places and websites, movies and shows, and more
Google introduced Material You this year, its new design language that will define its apps' looks for years to come. That's why the company is going on a redesigning spree, with the latest app to receive a makeover being Gmail. Thankfully, Google isn't redoing all of its apps just for the sake of the fresh look — the company is also viewing it as a chance to add better functionality in some places. Google Collections appears to be one of these. The Google app's integrated bookmarking feature doesn't get dynamic colors, but its redesign makes it much more useful to many people.
Spotify is testing a redesigned (and much-improved) library UI
You can view and search all library content at once with this simplified approach
The Spotify Android app hasn't seen a major design overhaul for a few years now, but it does get incremental updates on a regular basis. The latest section of the app to get a new lick of paint is the library, which was last upgraded in 2019 to accommodate podcasts.
The big Material redesign is hidden in Android 12, but we've got screenshots
Further proof we're in for some big interface changes this year
Google released the first Android 12 developer preview yesterday, and our friends over at XDA are already digging deep into the code to find out what Google might have planned for future releases of the new OS. In the process, they managed to activate a few flags that pave the way for a brand-new interface.
Google is working on a minor Play Store redesign that does away with the hamburger menu, moving its contents to the account switcher instead. But as a tipster shared with us, that might not be the only change coming at us once that new interface rolls out widely. We've received screenshots of a redesigned settings page that separates and orders options better.
Google's well known for extensively and silently testing different UI tweaks, sometimes for years before settling on something. So, it's nice when the company outright announces an upcoming redesign — we know what to expect and look for before it's thrust upon us. Just earlier today, Google teased us with what it calls a "bubblier," "bouncier," and more Googley refresh of Search on mobile. It's expected to roll out in the coming days (though some folks may already have it) and honestly, it looks pretty good.
Google Lens is getting a new icon, less than two years after the last redesign
Looking more like a camera now
Google Lens may be an incredibly handy tool that could as well have been science fiction just a few years back, but it looks like Google is having trouble sticking with one branding for its image analysis service. A new icon has popped up in one of our tipster's Google search bar that's more closely resembling a camera than the previous version, suggesting that many folks might find the old icon hard to understand.
Oxygen Updater’s major design makover with bottom tabs is going stable
The unofficial app helps keep your OnePlus phones up to date
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If you don't feel like waiting for Oxygen OS updates to reach your OnePlus phone via the slow staged rollout, you might already be familiar with Oxygen Updater. The unofficial tool allows you to get the latest Oxygen OS version as soon as it's out, but its design is getting a little long in the tooth. To celebrate the app's 1-million-downloads milestone, the developers have decided to bless users with a facelift. It's coming to them as part of version 5.0.0.
Google is always tweaking its Discover feed ever so slightly to fit your taste even better, but sometimes, the company is also willing to make big changes. It looks like it's currently testing a brand-new look for Discover that does away with the signature card interface, and it's adding a share button while it's at it.
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.
G Suite is now Google Workspace, with a whole new visual identity
Includes the new Gmail experience and additional collaboration features
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Ever since the coronavirus pandemic struck, the definition of work has changed, and companies like Google, Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft had to move quickly to adapt to a much bigger work-from-home force. Google has already introduced tons of features to make remote work easier (shamelessly advertising as much in Gmail), but now it has also decided that it's time for a rebranding. It's paid business work tool collection G Suite is now Google Workspace, and it packs a slew of new icons and even more remote collaboration features.
Google Pay app to soon be replaced with Flutter-based version
It'll be retired in favor of the app formerly known as Tez
India's Google Pay app recently received a makeover under the hood with Flutter, Google's cross-platform app framework. Looking at some screenshots posted by XDA's Mishaal Rahman on Twitter, it appears that Google will soon be deprecating the current Pay app that the rest of the world uses in favor of the now-Flutter-powered Google Pay India app.
AccuWeather adds minute-by-minute forecasts to fill the void left by Dark Sky
The new experience has been in beta for the past three months
Dark Sky may get to live on Android for an extra month until August 1, but after that, it's time to look for a new weather app. The competition is well aware of that and is bringing its applications up-to-par. As such, AccuWeather has been working on a full overhaul of its slightly dated app, featuring a new icon, more native code, an hourly minute-by-minute forecast front-and-center, and tons of customization options, including dark modes. The new app will roll out to the Play Store starting today.
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.
Google Messages is the main SMS client for Android, and while most of the app's recent development has been focused on improving RCS, the design team has also been hard at work. Now the app is receiving a top search bar, similar to what Gmail and other Google apps already have.
Google's Play Music & TV service has been long overdue for an update and revamp, especially on Android TV. The app has stagnated behind its counterparts, like the Play Store and YouTube, which got an interface uplift on Android TV in the past months, but it should be getting an overhaul according to new leaked screenshots.
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.
Latest VLC beta switches to bottom navigation, adds share menu
New video information overlay during playback
The once ubiquitous navigation drawer has become a pariah of app design over the last couple years thanks to a forced movement toward gesture navigation. We've seen plenty of apps switch to a tabbed bar at the bottom of the screen, and now VLC is joining their ranks. Along with a few other new features, the first beta of v3.3 now sports a browser screen with an updated navigation model.