Google Search is a powerful tool that can search the web as well as dig deep into your Android phone. While Google routinely changes its algorithms running in the background to give you appropriate results, the Google Search UI on Android hasn’t changed much in a while. But that’s probably going to change soon, as the search giant is testing a new facelift for its Google app for Android with a few helpful feature additions in tow.
During this year’s Search On event, Google made a bunch of announcements, including a new Search bar for the Google app. While the company didn’t share a timeline for its rollout back then, a Telegram channel that tracks all Google developments spotted the new Search design on their Android handset.
The most apparent change is the Search bar, which is now much thicker, with voice and Lens search options remaining unchanged. You will notice a new carousel of search suggestions right below the search bar. The first one gives you a contextual option, like the ability to search from a recent screenshot — this will also show up when you’re about to punch in your search query. If you scroll to the right in the carousel, you will find even more suggestions for things like solving homework with Google Lens, identifying songs, and more.
Do note that Google Search can already do all these things, but these handy shortcuts make it easy to access the features or even help people discover them for the first time. What’s really new is the bell icon in the Google app for Android. It sits right next to your profile photo and shows notifications for the topics you’ve subscribed to.
Right now, it isn’t clear if Google is running a limited test or is, in fact, rolling out these features to everyone. These new design changes haven’t shown up on our devices yet, so Google might take a little while to make them available more broadly.
Besides these visual upgrades, there’s a lot lined up for Google Search. For instance, Google will soon be able to show results even before you’ve finished typing. This is different from the search query suggestions that appear currently as you type. Many more features like this were announced during September’s Search On event and should be rolled out sometime down the line.