Google debuts Material Three Expressive, Android's most vibrant design yet
What's the story
Google has officially unveiled a new design language for Android, called Material Three Expressive.
This new approach builds on the colorful and customizable elements of Material You, which was first introduced with Android 12.
The new design features vibrant colors, bold fonts, and dynamic animations. It will be integrated into an update for the Android 16 beta later this month.
User interface
Material Three Expressive enhances live updates feature
The new design language also improves the Live Updates feature introduced in a previous Android 16 beta.
It offers real-time updates through a persistent notification bar, much like Apple's Live Activities but restricted to food delivery, navigation, and rideshare apps.
These notifications will appear on different screens like lockscreen, always-on display, status bar on top of the screen, and notification shade.
Enhancements
Quick settings and app design revamped
The quick settings feature also gets an update, letting you resize and rearrange tiles. This change is similar to a feature in iOS.
The centerpiece of the new update is the revamped app design. Developers now get new icon shapes, type styles, and color palettes for their apps.
The animations feel more "springy," with haptics underlining user action when swiping a notification out of existence.
User experience
Bright colors and type styles to guide user attention
Google's blog post and documentation for developers highlight that these new design elements are not merely aesthetic changes.
They are specifically designed to guide users' attention more effectively.
The bright purples and pinks used in the company's concept images are also aimed at making the new design more appealing among the younger users.