Tag: search

Android Google

Google app testing a bottom search bar redesign on Android

The first time we saw a bottom search bar for the Google app was in 2021, while we enabled a modernized version in late 2023. Google is now testing a Material 3 bottom bar redesign with an integrated search field.

At least one user today has encountered this bottom bar redesign in Google Search on Android. For starters, it’s finally using Material 3 with a pill-shaped tab indicator that has rolled out on the iOS version but was seemingly abandoned on Android after a brief rollout was pulled. (That said, the Google app screenshots in the Play Store listing feature it.) That change alone plays a big role in making this first-party application a bit more consistent.

Current vs. new (@Cookie_lolll)

Above the bottom bar is the tall search field that previously only appeared at the top of the Discover feed. At the moment, that thicker variant disappears on the actual Search results page. In the redesign, it remains there for some consistency, though it does still look comically large. Overall, the combined search field and bottom bar make use of a sheet container.

One complaint would be that it takes up more space that could be used for results, but the “Google” logo no longer appears at the very top, with the Search filters immediately appearing instead.

Instead of Dynamic Color, the default blue tint is used. It does stand out against the Search results page.

Compared to the current look, this bottom search bar redesign looks more modern, with the Google app decidedly looking a bit old as of late. Hopefully, it will see a wider rollout.

L-R: 2021, 2023, 2024 (enabled)

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Android Google

Google Play Store rolling out new Search tab in bottom bar

Google Play Store on Android

Following testing in December, Google is moving Play Store search to the bottom bar with a new tab.

Instead of a search bar at the top of the screen when you’re viewing the “Games” and “Apps” feeds, Google Play is switching to a “Search” tab at the center of the bottom bar. 

When you open the new tab, the search bar appears at the top like before, which is somewhat anticlimactic and doesn’t do anything for reachability.

You get a grid of “You might like” and “Explore games” search terms. The latter grouping is accompanied by icons, while the former just has a magnifying glass icon. Visually, it’s not a very interesting page and a bit too text heavy. Meanwhile, making search a two tap/stage process feels unnecessary.

With this change, the app bar in Games and Apps will just show the Play logo in the top-left corner, while the notification bell and your profile avatar remains. The empty space in-between feels rather wasted. 

Meanwhile, the new Search tab is only for application queries. There are no changes to the Books tab, which feels tacked on to the Play Store at this point, with the field remaining up top. (It follows Play Books widely rolling out its Material You redesign this week.)

This is rolling out with version 40.1.19-31 of the Play Store via a server-side update. It’s not yet widely available, but Google looks to be committing to this design.

More on Google Play:

Thanks, Marko

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Android Google

Google Chrome packs more searches into the Search Bar

First off, the Google Search box on Chrome will now display suggested queries based on your previous searches before you’ve started typing. In Google’s example, a user who had previously searched for the Korean noodle dish japchae would see images of similar Korean dishes beside the search box under the heading “People also search for.” Some of the search suggestions will also include images.

The Verge tested the updated Chrome search suggestions feature. Typing in “pesto sandwich recipe” popped up a list of similar search queries by others, such as “What sandwich does pesto go well with?” as well as images of a piece of ciabatta bread, pesto, and provolone.

A screenshot of a search for “pesto sandwich recipe” on Google Chrome.

Another change will impact searches related to shopping on the Chrome app. On both the Android and iOS apps, the search box will display image thumbnails of “broader product and shopping categories” rather than just sticking to the specific item in a search query. In another Google example, a user who searches for “bohemian table” will also see related search suggestions and images pop up in the search box, such as “bohemian tablecloth,” “bohemian table runner,” and others. 

Search suggestions will even pop up on Chrome when your phone has a poor Wi-Fi connection, due to “improved on-device capabilities” for both the Android and iOS versions of the search engine. Joshua Cruz, a spokesperson for Google, clarified that Chrome will download a “lightweight read-only model” in order to keep search suggestions working. 

“With this feature, Chrome will download a lightweight read-only model which contains the most popular search suggestions for a locale from Google server and store the model at [the] user directory, so that Chrome can serve these top search suggestions to users when server suggestions cannot

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Android Google

Circle to Search will be exclusive to Google and Samsung devices for a long time

With its announcement of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsung also unveiled a myriad of AI features, one of which is Circle to Search. This was created in partnership with Google, and it was in fact also introduced by Google for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro the day after Samsung’s event (and it’s since started rolling out).

If you were expecting Circle to Search to continue its rollout to other Android devices from other brands, it turns out you’re in for a disappointment. According to Samsung itself, Circle to Search will remain exclusive to Google and Samsung devices until at least October.

Circle to Search will be exclusive to Google and Samsung devices for a long time

Here’s the precise wording straight from Samsung’s arm in the Netherlands:

Circle to Search may become available on Android devices from other brands from 5 October 2024, but there are no active developments underway for this.

That’s a pretty gigantic bummer and a severe case of unwarranted gatekeeping. We’re wondering if Google and Samsung think people are going to buy an S24 or Pixel 8 specifically for this feature, and if not, then what the point is.

It just feels a tad spiteful for an ecosystem – the Android one – that used to be touted as much more open than Apple’s gated community. Well, the gates are starting to appear in the Android world as well.

It’s not the first time, either – Google and Samsung are similarly gatekeeping the latest version(s) of Wear OS for their wearables specifically. We can’t make any sense of this behavior – after all, it’s likely to anger Google’s other Android device maker partners, but it keeps doing it, so there must be some logic behind it? What do you think?

Source (in Dutch)

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Android Google

Google will add new search and browser choice screens for Android phones in Europe

android search choice screen

As we get closer to the March 6 date of compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has just announced some of its plans to so its products and services will be legal under the new European rules.

In a blog post, Google stated that one big change for European consumers with Android phones will be two new choice screens that will appear when consumers initially set up their Android phones. One will let users quickly set up their preferred search engine for their phone. Google will also put in a similar screen for its Chrome browser app on its desktop and iOS versions. Search engines who want to be added to the new Android search choice screen can apply at Google’s website.

android choice browser page

The other choice screen for Android phones in Europe will let users select their default web browser. Again, Google is letting companies submit their web browser that can be added to this choice screen on Google’s website.

This is almost identical to what the EU required Microsoft to do over 10 years ago, when it forced the company to put in a “Browser Ballot Screen” in Windows 7 in 2009. Microsoft did away with that screen in 2014.

In addition, Google Search in Europe will be getting some changes as well, especially for shopping for products or trying to find a hotel. The company stated:

We will introduce dedicated units that include a group of links to comparison sites from across the web, and query shortcuts at the top of the search page to help people refine their search, including by focusing results just on comparison sites. For categories like hotels, we will also start testing a dedicated space for comparison sites and direct suppliers to show more detailed individual results

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Android Google

Google unveils a new way to search


Google announced on Thursday two new AI tools that it says will make searching for things online “radically more helpful.”


Mobile users accessing Google on some Android phones will soon be able to circle or highlight items that appear on their smartphone screens to populate more information, and ask complicated or nuanced questions about an image or text.


The company said it’s been quietly testing the tools to see how generative AI, the technology that underpins viral chatbots including ChatGPT, can make Search more personalized and intuitive since last year.


The features were first teased during Samsung’s Unpacked event earlier this week and will come to the Galaxy S24 smartphone lineup launching later this month. It will also launch on a handful of other high-end Android smartphones, including the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro, starting January 3.


The first feature, called Circle to Search, allows Android users to circle, tap, highlight or scribble on pictures, videos or text to learn more about what they see, such as a landmark in the back of someone’s social media page.


In addition, starting Thursday, people will be able to point their mobile camera (or upload a photo or screenshot) and ask a question via the Google app to get information. Google gave the example of coming across an unfamiliar board game at a yard sale, and asking the tool about how the game is played.


Over the years, Google has made changes to Search such as enabling search-by-voice or its Lens tool, which uses image recognition technology through a smartphone’s cameras to learn more about the world around them.


Google’s AI play highlights a greater push across the tech industry as big tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and others, race to deploy

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