TECHNOLOGY

Google's Upcoming Design Revolution

Wed Apr 16 2025
Google is gearing up for a significant update to its Material Design 3. This update is all about making apps more expressive and engaging. The tech giant is expected to reveal this new design theme at the upcoming Google I/O event in May. The new theme, currently codenamed "Material3Expressive, " aims to bring more dynamic and interactive elements to apps. The hints about this update come from various sources. A developer on GitHub noticed a new theme named "Material3Expressive" and reached out to Google. A Google engineer confirmed that the company is working on making apps more engaging. This confirmation, along with some code changes, suggests that Google is serious about this update. Google has a history of overhauling its design language every few years. The last major update came with Android 12, which introduced dynamic colors. Now, it seems Google is ready to take another step forward with Material Design 3 Expressive. This update could bring significant changes to how apps look and feel. So, what might these changes look like? Well, there are already some clues. The Android Settings app has been redesigned with an "expressive" label. This new design includes updated switches, grouped items, and a new progress indicator. These changes suggest that the new design theme will be more interactive and visually appealing. Another hint comes from the Gboard app. A new progress indicator in Gboard doesn't match any current Material Design 3 components. This could be a sneak peek at what's to come with Material Design 3 Expressive. However, it's important to note that these are just hints, and the final design could be different. Google I/O 2025 is set to take place from May 20 to 21. This event will likely reveal more about the new design theme. However, it could take weeks or even months for these design elements to appear in Android apps. It's also unlikely that we'll see the new design in the upcoming stable release of Android 16. Instead, we might have to wait for a future release.

questions

    Will the new expressive theme make our apps so expressive that they start talking back to us?
    Will the new expressive theme require significant changes in app development, and how will this affect developers?
    How will the new expressive Material Design 3 theme impact accessibility for users with visual impairments?

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