Google on Tuesday unveiled its new Android design language, Material 3 Expressive, at the Android Show ahead of Google I/O. The update is designed to make your phone more customizable and fluid, the tech giant says.
Material 3 Expressive brings new springy animations that Google says will make your phone feel more fluid. For example, when you dismiss a notification, you will see a detach transition and feel a haptic rumble. You will see similar sorts of animation and feel haptics when you’re doing things like dismissing an app in your recent apps screen, fidgeting with the volume slider, or flinging down the shade.
The update also subtly blurs the background to provide a sense of depth so you can stay in context when navigating your phone.
“In 2021 we launched Material You as a big leap in design that focused around a user’s identity with experiences like dynamic color theming,” said Mindy Brooks, VP of Product and UX, Android Platform, in a briefing with reporters. “Now we’re building off the principles of Material You to bring our latest design update called Material 3 Expressive. Material 3 Expressive is an expansion of new components and capabilities designed to add emotion to product UIs, providing a more premium and engaging experience that is easier to use and creates a little more joy in key moments.”
Android is also getting updated dynamic color themes and emphasized typography to allow users to customize their phone to their style and preferences. Plus, these visual customizations will be applied across Google apps, such as Google Photos and Gmail.
In addition, you can now customize Quick Settings to add more of your favorite actions, such as Flashlight and Do Not Disturb.
Android’s new Live Updates feature will also help you easily track progress notifications from select apps. For example, if you place an Uber Eats order, you will get a glanceable Live Update to see the real-time progress of your order. The feature is similar to iOS’s Live Activities feature.
“We’re introducing Live Updates as a new feature that will highlight what you need to know so you can stay focused on what you care about,” Brooks said. “We’ve all been there. You’ve placed an order, and you’re trying to pay attention to conversations around the table. With glanceable live updates, you can easily track your order and get back to real life. These real-time updates from your favorite delivery, ride-share, and navigation apps are coming as part of the redesign later this year.”
All of these new design improvements will first come to Pixel devices later this year with Android 16.
As for Wear OS watches, Material 3 Expressive’s design is more fluid with scrolling animations that trace the circular display. Just like on phones, the new design language will bring a sense of depth.
Plus, Google is updating daily experiences like using the pin pad and controlling media with motion and responsive feedback. There will also be smoother transitions, along with dynamic color-theming to the watch so that the theme you choose for your watch face applies to the device.
“We are excited to announce that we are bringing color theming to the watch,” Brooks said. “Now the theme you choose for your watch face can theme the entire system in Google Apps so you can make it your own. And when it comes to getting things done, glanceability is one of the most important considerations. For watch, we’ve created a system of buttons that truly hug the display, making them that much more tappable and space efficient using an underlying polar grid.”
Tiles are also going to be more engaging, making it easier to get quick access to information or actions, such as texting your favorite contacts or starting a workout.
These changes will be rolling out to the Pixel Watch first later this year with Wear OS 6.
Check out how to watch the livestream and more from Google I/O.
