Android Is Getting Its Biggest Design Refresh in Years

It's time for Android to undergo a significant update. As Google unintentionally revealed earlier, "Material 3 Expressive" represents a major redesign focused on enhancing personalization, fluidity, and immediate utility on your devices.

Android has long prioritized personalization. "Material You" elevated this aspect, and Material 3 Expressive aims to push it even further. Google emphasizes that this update isn't merely cosmetic—it's a core transformation intended to make your device uniquely yours. It introduces new methods to infuse your style and personality, smoother interactions that feel more natural, and timely information that's (hopefully) readily available when you need it.

One of the most exciting aspects you'll notice is the enhanced fluidity across the interface. Material 3 Expressive incorporates more natural, lively animations intended to create a "moment of delight." When you dismiss a notification, the adjacent ones subtly respond to your swipe, and as you flick it away, you receive a satisfying haptic feedback. These subtle enhancements are pervasive, whether you're swiping through apps on the Recents screen, adjusting volume, or pulling down the notification shade. The shade itself now features a subtle blur effect.

Regarding the shade, you can now add more of your frequently used functions, such as the flashlight and Do Not Disturb, to your Quick Settings. The new Live Updates feature ensures you don't have to sift through numerous notifications to find what matters, allowing you to monitor the status of things like your Uber Eats order directly in the notification shade. Real-time updates from delivery, rideshare, and navigation apps are prioritized so you won't miss them.

Material 3 Expressive also introduces updated dynamic color themes that adapt to your wallpaper, responsive elements that adjust to various screen sizes, and improved typography that enhances readability. These design choices will eventually be uniform across Google apps like Google Photos and Gmail.

The update extends to smartwatches as well. Material 3 Expressive on Wear OS is tailored for round displays. Scrolling animations follow the screen's curve, and as you navigate through lists, items expand as they reach the wider center of the screen. Dynamic color theming is also coming to Wear OS, ensuring the color you choose for your watch face is reflected throughout the system. You'll also find "glanceable buttons" that extend to fit the display, saving space and making them easier to press.

These design enhancements will be introduced with Android 16 and Wear OS 6 devices, and they'll first roll out to Pixel devices later this year. However, it remains uncertain whether other Android devices will receive this new design. If history is any indication, it seems doubtful. Nonetheless, Material 3 Expressive appears promising.

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