Tag: redesign

Android Apps

Google Drive declutters its home tab in latest redesign for Android

Summary

  • Google Drive’s new UI makes file search easier and faster by switching to a denser list view in the Suggested tab, displaying information like the file name and type more prominently.
  • The Notifications tab has been replaced by an Activity tab, which serves as a comprehensive hub for all document activities, including comments and access requests.
  • The new design is being rolled out for the Drive app on Android and iOS, but the availability will increase gradually because this is a phased rollout.


Google has spent the better part of 2023 giving Workspace products like Slides, Sheets, and Docs a healthy dose of AI-powered features. Now, the company has shifted its attention to Drive, another critical component at the center of its Workspace products. We recently reported about Google adding a new option to filter files by the mentioned collaborator using a new People drop-down. This addition to the UI is just one of the many changes Google had in store, because a new UI for the mobile app is rolling out now.

Google Drive’s Android app UI has remained fairly untouched for the last few months, with the only noteworthy changes being a tablet-friendly rearrangement of the buttons, and a Material You update for the web UI. Last week, we reported on a few quirky additions in the Android app, such as an odd floating action button (FAB) to launch the camera for document scanning stacked atop the New + button replacing the + FAB in the lower right corner. Google has now announced these changes officially alongside a few other tweaks, which should help people who use the app frequently.

Suggested documents are packed closer together

Source: Google 

Suggested documents are packed closer together

Google says its new UI is designed to make file search much easier and faster. To this effect,

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Android Apps

Google’s Weather UI redesign starts appearing on more Android phones

What you need to know

  • The UI redesign for Weather in the Google app is starting to rollout on Android phones, bringing it into the Material You group.
  • The redesign tosses away the old, clunky three tabs for a cleaner, bolder single viewing with a Now, hourly forecast, and 10-day outlook scrollable display.
  • Google rolled out the revamped UI on its Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices earlier this year a month after launch.

It looks like Android phones are starting to receive their Weather UI redesign in the Google app. The rollout was brought to Mishaal Rahman’s attention on X after he received several reports from users about it.

The Weather “app” is essentially tucked into the overall Google app on Android. The redesign swaps out the old three-tabbed view for “Today,” “Tomorrow,” and “10-day outlook” for a single streamlined view.

The redesign fits well with Google’s Material You design language that it features throughout Android and its own apps.

Most of what users are now finding calls back to some early teasers a Google member posted during the spring. A “Now” section welcomes users with quick bits of information such as the current temperature and an hourly forecast followed by the 10-day outlook.

One aspect that’s shown up is the addition of a weather warning for users in between the Now section and the hourly forecast. Looks like this could help those glancing at the weather for any trouble before heading out.

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Android Google

An early Google Chrome Web Store preview shows a ‘modern’ redesign

What you need to know

  • Google opens its door on a preview for the Chrome Web Store redesign, bringing an aesthetic similar to the Play Store.
  • While the main page removes the category sidebar, the preview’s “extensions” and “themes” pages bring it back.
  • Google hasn’t stated a timeframe for its official arrival, however, it’s looking to users and developers for feedback before doing so.

Google is working on revamping the design of its Chrome Web Store, and an early preview gives us a look at what’s to come. As spotted by 9to5Google, the new Chrome Web Store redesign is pretty similar, aesthetically, to the Play Store on mobile and desktop. The easiest to spot change is how the new Web Store fills the view of a PC’s monitor horizontally, doing away with the category sidebar.

Instead, right beneath the initial side-scrolling rotating list of extension highlights, users can find “top categories.” The page then recommends extensions based on your habits with others following the further down you go.

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Google Chrome's Web Store redesign preview.
(Image credit: Android Central)

Hopping over into the “extensions” and “themes” pages quickly brings back that old sidebar full of categories. On these pages, Chrome’s new Web Store lists broader categories with sub-categories directly below so users can click on exactly what they’re looking for from the get-go.

Both pages offer recommendations that you may be interested in. However, unlike the extensions page, which offers a “you might like” section, the themes page forgoes such a section.

Much of the design choices made for the Chrome Web Store’s upcoming redesign are pretty standard (now) for Google. Much of it fits the theme of its Material You design language, with rounded corner boxes to boot.

9to5 also mentions a Google

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Android Google

‘Google’ preferences in Android Settings getting redesign

google play services

Google Play services are responsible for many features on modern Android, and its primary settings menu is now getting a redesign.

Once live, going to system Settings > Google reveals a new two-tab UI. The “Recommended” tab will surface cards that provide a high-level overview of your account and available features. This might include: Backup, Nearby Share, Find My Device, Google Wallet, and Password Manager. 

This is a better way for Google to surface relevant suggestions.

Meanwhile, the Find My Device card here reveals the new logo that we previously spotted in June. We see the outline version of the upcoming crosshair icon that evokes radar and scanning, as well as how FMD will soon be home to trackers, tablets, watches, and headphones.

With the Find My Device network launch delayed, we don’t expect this updated branding to appear until then.

new Find My Device

The list of “Services on this device” makes up the second tab. It currently includes: Ads, Autofill, Backup, Devices & sharing, Find My Device, Game Dashboard, Parental controls, Personal Safety, Personalize using shared data, Set up & restore, Settings for Google apps, as well as COVID-19 Exposure Notifications. There are no changes here.

This Google settings redesign is rolling out now (h/t Mishaal Rahman), and we’re seeing it with version 23.32.55 of Google Play services after signing up for the beta.

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Android Google

Android Auto is getting a new Google Maps redesign

android auto google maps

Google Maps is preparing two updates including an Android Auto redesign that’s rolling out now.

Attached to recent Google Maps updates and independent of your Android Auto version, a new design for the Maps app on Android Auto is rolling out. This new design adds a sidebar to the Maps experience in your car where controls live.

Where previous designs showed map controls off to the right side when you interacted with the map, but this new design constantly shows these controls. You’ll see zoom controls, the ability to chance the map’s orientation, adjust what directions are said aloud, and access settings. All of those controls are shown on a translucent bar on the left side of the screen.

Notably, this only appears when the app is displayed on the entire screen. It won’t show up in the dashboard view.

We’re seeing the change live on Android Auto v10 with Google Maps v11.90, but SmartDroid cites a reader who saw the redesign with Android Auto v9.9.

If you’re seeing this new design, drop a comment below and let us know!

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Android Apps

Google is finally giving the Play Store the tablet and foldable redesign it deserves

Android apps for tablets and foldables are finally on Google’s radar

Both Android and the Play Store have undergone considerable visual changes in the last few months to accommodate the larger screens of foldables and some of the top Android tablets. The Play Store’s revamped multi-column UI now better uses the extra display real estate on devices like the Pixel Tablet, with categories now occupying the left panel. Google is doing a lot more to improve your experience with the Play Store on big-screen devices and is even bringing a fresh interface for the search function.


Google-Play-Store-tablet-design-1

If you own a Pixel Fold or any recent Android tablet/foldable, you should already have the new Play Store design that we first saw last year. Individual app pages now come with rich visual elements like more prominent background images — and videos, in case game developers want to showcase their immersive gameplay. Details on these pages are further divided into two columns so that you can simultaneously explore any app alternatives without going back to the previous page. Even the dedicated Games and Apps tabs feature options that have proper screenshots for different device types.

But a more important aspect of these tablet-facing changes is how the Play Store ranks the apps when you look them up. The search results now focus on the apps that meet Google’s big screen guidelines so that they don’t appear letterboxed or have weird resizing issues in either orientation. This applies to the Play Store’s curated lists like Editor’s Choice apps and games as well. On the flip side, Google will also start warning you if tablet apps cross the 8% threshold of user reports on app crashes and unresponsiveness.

Google-Play-Store-tablet-design-2

While many of these features are already available for a few foldables and tablets, the Play Store

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