Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Android apps are going Material 3 Expressive, and Phone got started with a beta last month.
- In addition to the new look, Phone also added a new gesture select option for answering calls.
- This week, availability of both changes appear to be heading out much more widely.
App by app, Material 3 Expressive is making its presence felt across Google’s Android software library, and we are here for it. This summer, we’ve been digging through Google’s Android updates to get an early look at all the work the company’s developers have been putting in to bring this bouncy, fun, high-contrast look to all its apps. While a lot of times those changes aren’t yet publicly visible, last month we saw some of those Expressive tweaks start actually arriving for testers of the Google Phone app.
The changes that beta testers started getting back in June were actually two-fold. Like we’re seeing with so many other Google Android apps, elements of that Expressive makeover change the look and feel of the UI. The pattern in Phone follows the trend we’ve already observed, with rounded edges, more pill-shaped elements, and contrasting background colors.
What makes this update in particular a little more interesting than most of the Expressive refreshes we’ve been tracking is that also involves a functional change. Google is finally giving users a choice when it comes to how they want to answer calls, and can pick between just tapping on answer and decline buttons, or requiring a swipe gesture.
It’s been six weeks now since that beta first went out, and it looks like Google’s tests have gone well, because we now see signs that the update is headed out more widely. Our friends in the Gapps Leaks – Discussion Telegram group have been reporting the update hitting their Android handsets, including the same Material 3 Expressive changes and incoming call gesture option that have been available in beta.
Your mileage might vary, though, and 9to5Google observes that not all of Google’s recent changes to the Phone UI are hitting users in the same order, and it’s possible for the Expressive refresh to arrive before or after changes to the app’s navigation flow.
Regardless of exactly who’s getting what, first, right now it seems clear that Google’s feeling a lot more confident about these Phone tweaks, and is looking to share them with a whole lot more Android users than had access a month ago.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.
