Google shows off radical Android design change | Tech News

Google has lifted the lid on Android 16, the newest model as a consequence of be launched to telephones later this 12 months, revealing a larger visible redesign than anticipated. The huge query is whether or not or not your Android cellphone will ever get it.

Dubbed ‘Material 3 Expressive’, the new search for Android 16 builds on the design language of Android 12, which got here out in 2021 and overhauled the feel and appear of Android, significantly on Google’s own Pixel telephones, the place the modifications are utilized straight.

This 12 months, that is set to incorporate huge daring fonts, more customisation and color theme choices, new elements and typography, modifications to animations and widgets. Lots of widgets.

“Personalization is core to Android, and Material 3 Expressive — one of our biggest updates in years — is all about making your device feel unique to you,” Google mentioned. “Material 3 Expressive gives you new ways to show your style and personality, delivers smooth interactions and surfaces glanceable, helpful information.”

Google says a lot of that is primarily based round “more natural, springy animations” throughout Android in issues like notifications, with haptic suggestions underneath your thumbs in new locations.

“You get similar moments like this across your device, like when you’re dismissing an app in your recent apps screen, fidgeting with the volume slider or flinging down the shade,” Google mentioned “We even subtly blur the shade background to provide a sense of depth, so the motion feels lightweight and you’re able to stay aware of the apps you’re using in the background.”

Just like yearly, firms akin to Samsung, OnePlus and Honor can all take and use Android 16 together with all its new options however they don’t have to implement Google’s design modifications, and historical past shows us that they typically don’t.

Though Android 12 gave Google Pixel telephones a distinct minimalist look that continues to as we speak, Samsung’s One UI is way more complicated and customisable, and doesn’t look remotely like Google’s Pixel UI (properly, to us anyway).

It signifies that in the event you just like the look of Android 16 the best way Google does it, you in all probability need to have a Pixel.

Samsung and different manufacturers additionally took Google’s color theming pretty half heartedly, and saved on track to make Android feel and look more just like the iPhone and iOS. OnePlus and Xiaomi are significantly into this, from icon form to color option to settings menu layouts.

Then again, Google is introducing Live Updates with Android 16, which is principally the identical as Apple’s equal the place you possibly can view the standing of your Uber or Deliveroo arriving in a widget on the lock screen.

You’ll additionally have the ability to more granularly customise and edit the short settings panel on Android, one other factor you’re capable of do on Apple’s newest iOS 18, in what it calls Control Centre.

iOS and Android normally do that, circling one another’s numerous options and perks earlier than copying them and ending up with very comparable appears to be like. That mentioned, the primary pictures of Google’s search for the Pixel is decidedly un-Apple.

Google additionally confirmed off some small visible tweaks to WearOS, its smartwatch software program, however again, these had been all proven on a Pixel Watch and might not be modifications that finish up being seen on different Android wearables.