Summary
- Google consistently updates Material Design guidelines, and is now implementing MD3 progress bars in apps like Quick Share.
- New design features include rounded corners and endpoint indicators for progress bars, seen in Google apps like Photos and the Play Store.
- Quick Share has quickly adopted the new design globally, with the updated UI appearing in countries like India and Germany.
Google is regular with Material Design guideline updates since the design philosophy was introduced a decade ago in 2014. App developers must now abide by the Material Design 3 (MD3) standard for UI elements in their apps, which we first saw in Android 12. However, as with any change in guidelines, adoption usually takes a while, even for Google’s own apps and Android system components. Today, we spotted another element in Android, Quick Share, adopting MD3 progress bars.
Material Design 3 was introduced in 2021, and Google has since updated several design elements to flesh out the new standard. The latest element to receive the company’s attention was the sliders and progress bars, like those we use to adjust brightness and track download progress, respectively.
Google’s new design for progress bars chiefly features individual segments with rounded corners and an endpoint indicator for linear progress bars. Although a vast majority of Android app developers haven’t caught up to the change, a few of Google’s own apps like Photos and the Play Store already use the new bars and sliders. Today, we spotted Quick Share, formerly known as Nearby Share, also using the new design as well.
Quick Share was quick to catch on
We noticed the change in Quick Share when transferring files between devices — the UI uses the updated indeterminate circular progress bar displayed in the Connecting stage, as well as the determinate progress bar showing the transfer completion status. The app wasn’t updated recently, suggesting it is a server-side switch.
Moreover, we can confirm this small design tweak is rolling out internationally. We spotted it in India and Germany, but it is likely other regions will follow shortly. However, Google usually doesn’t specify a timeline for the rollout of such minor cosmetic updates. It is likely the app is receiving the change now because Google is eager to welcome new users and wants the tool to look the part as it sheds the Nearby Share reputation. That said, MD3 isn’t limited to Android, and it would be even nicer to see the recently launched desktop client for Quick Share follow suit.
