Google’s Material 3 Expressive update is meant to bring a cleaner, more modern vibe to Android. But the latest Google One app refresh takes a surprising turn, as it strips out Dynamic Color and dials back some of the little visual touches that made it feel welcoming.
The old design had playful doodles front and center on every tab, giving the app a more relaxed feel. It was built around Dynamic Color, which allowed the interface to match your wallpaper for a personalized look. Tabs popped with a chunky bottom bar you couldn’t miss, and most screens kept things airy with generous spacing and clean, simple lists.
However, as spotted by 9to5Google, Google One has swapped out its once-prominent tab illustrations for simple, text-only greetings based on the time of day. The app’s interface also got a subtle facelift, with cards now having rounded corners and thin outlines.
The Storage tab now bundles the per-app breakdown and “Clean up space” button into a single card. Device backup and Benefits sections got some minor visual tweaks, but they still work the same. One noticeable change is that the bottom bar has been trimmed down, ditching the taller style from the earlier layout.
Settings page shows off Material 3 Expressive the most
Material 3 Expressive shows up most clearly in the Settings screen. The navigation drawer and small account icon in the top right haven’t changed, but the rest have seen a revamp. There’s now a bold header up top, and each setting sits inside its own card, neatly grouped by category.
Instead of adapting to your wallpaper, backgrounds default to gray, while the active tab gains the standard blue accent. The missing Dynamic Color seems like a glitch, though. While the main UI went gray in the author’s case, other elements (like status/navigation bars) kept themed accents. That suggests Google might restore full wallpaper-driven color later on.
The new Google One redesign is rolling out gradually via a server-side update to version 1.271.x on Android, so it might not show up on everyone’s device just yet.
