Android’s Material 3 Expressive redesign stands to change the look and feel of Android and its apps in quite a few ways. Some, like a streamlined quick settings panel and bouncy animations, are hard to miss. Other changes will fly under the radar somewhat, but add polish and improve the interface’s cohesiveness.
Some upcoming tweaks to the Google app fall in the second category. Spotted in an APK teardown by AssembleDebug, you’d hardly notice these three updates on their own. But they should contribute to Android remaining fresh and fun, at least a little (Source: Android Authority).
The Google app changes to look for
Slight improvements in line with the rest of the interface
Now you see it, now you don’t. Screenshots courtesy of AssembleDebug via Android Authority.
The first change starts at the top. The unveiled status bar sports a translucent gradient background for a modern, polished look. The minor flourish makes notifications easier to see in light mode, although it’s barely noticeable in dark mode.
Another small but welcome update is coming to the search progress bar, which appears slightly thicker with rounded corners for a softer and also more prominent presentation. Like the others, it’s a minor tweak, but one that aligns nicely with the rest of Material 3 Expressive’s identity.
The most functional change affects the bottom navigation bar. Currently, those tabs stay pinned as you scroll through your feed, but Google is testing a new behavior that hides the bottom tabs when scrolling down. It helps reduce visual clutter when you’re focused on the next content at the bottom of the screen. When you scroll up, the tab icons reappear.
Screen recording courtesy of AssembleDebug via Android Authority.
The code review also provided a peek at a slick new Material 3 loading animation that triggers when you reach the bottom of the feed. Alongside that, there’s a new “Refresh” button that pops up under the search bar as you scroll.
Most of these changes should gradually roll out in the next few days. Since it’s an app update rather than an overarching Android change, it won’t be limited to Pixels like the QPR1 beta features.
