Latest news with #UIUpdate
The Verge
24-06-2025
- The Verge
Android's youthful new design will change the way you make and answer calls
Google is freshening up its Phone app with a new interface that's supposed to make it easier to find contacts and your calls. The test is gradually rolling out to some of Google's public beta users, and also includes some style changes that align with Android's more youthful Material 3 Expressive design language. For starters, Google has changed up the bottom menu bar, replacing the 'Favorites,' 'Recents,' 'Contacts,' and 'Voicemail' tabs with just three options: 'Home,' 'Keypad,' and 'Voicemail.' Under the new Home tab, you'll find your favorites in bubbles at the top of your screen, but it's now followed by a call log list that no longer nests calls from the same person under one entry. That means you'll see each call as a new entry (even if it's your mom calling you five times in a row when you don't pick up). Google is also trying out a new gesture that will allow you to swipe horizontally to answer or decline a call. The company says it's testing this feature based on feedback that this will help prevent accidental declines or answers while taking your phone out of your pocket. Aside from those changes, you'll also see some visual updates in the app, with the incoming call page now framing your contact in a more whimsical, lumpy circle. Google launched Android 16 earlier this month without including its big Material 3 Expressive redesign, which is now expected to roll out in September. It also introduced a new 'Pixel VIP' widget for Pixel phones that lets you see more details about your favorite contacts, such as their location, call history, and personal notes.
Android Authority
23-06-2025
- Android Authority
A more Google-y Gemini logo may be right around the corner (APK teardown)
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google may soon replace Gemini's current two-tone color scheme with its trademark red, blue, green, and yellow colors. We recently gave you an early look at the updated Gemini overlay featuring Google colors. We've now spotted similar changes for the Gemini logo and other UI elements in a teardown of the Google app. Google appears to be in the process of replacing Gemini's existing two-tone color scheme with its signature red, blue, green, and yellow colors. Earlier this month, we gave you an early look at the updated Gemini overlay featuring Google colors. We've now spotted similar changes for the Gemini logo and other UI elements. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. While digging through the latest Google app beta release (version beta), we discovered a new animated Gemini logo featuring Google's trademark colors. Current Gemini logo New Gemini logo with Google colors This animated logo appears when you launch the Gemini app, and the Gemini logo on the onboarding screens also has the revised color scheme. Current Gemini logo and text New Gemini logo and text The 'Get to know Gemini, your AI assistant' page no longer features Gemini's old colors at the top. However, instead of featuring Google colors, the text is now black. Current greeting colors New greeting colors The color change extends to the chat interface, with the greeting in the center featuring a different color gradient. The Gemini logo that appears above responses has a blue gradient, while the loading animation around it features Google colors. Current loading animation colors New loading animation colors So far, these changes are not live for end users in the latest Google app beta release. Google could roll them out with a future update, and we'll let you know as soon as they're widely available. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
11-06-2025
- Android Authority
Google experiments with ditching the Favorites tab in the Phone app for a simpler layout
TL;DR Google is testing the removal of the Favorites tab in the Phone app. Favorite contacts appear as a horizontal row at the top of the Recents tab in the new layout. The frequent contacts section no longer has a place in this redesign. Google is testing a significant change to its dialer app, and it could mark the end of a familiar tab. On at least some Pixel 8 Pro devices running version 178.0.765584175-publicbeta of the Google Phone app, the standalone Favorites tab has been removed. Instead, favorite contacts appear in a neat row across the top of the Recents screen, similar to how some other dialers integrate shortcuts for frequent contacts. Credit to Telegram user @h_muc, who first spotted this change live on their device. The first screenshot below shows the app's current UI, while the other two display the new layout. In the updated design, the Favorites tab is gone, and the top of the Recents tab now displays pinned favorites, followed by your most recent calls. A new Add button appears at the end of the contact row, presumably linking to the contact list so you can add more favorites. Another casualty of this redesign is the frequent contacts section, which previously appeared underneath favorites in the old tab. That section no longer appears in the new layout, and it's unclear whether it has been removed entirely or simply relocated. You can get a better idea of how the potential new layout will look in this video: The new layout is certainly cleaner, but it may frustrate users who liked having a dedicated space for both favorites and frequent contacts. It's unclear how widely this change is rolling out yet, but we'll keep an eye on things and let you know if this layout becomes the new default. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
10-06-2025
- Android Authority
The latest Android 16 QPR1 beta finally organizes Android's messy sound settings
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Google is cleaning up Android's 'Sound & vibration' settings page in the upcoming Android 16 QPR1 update. Instead of one long list, the new layout groups settings into distinct categories like 'sound patterns' and 'Audio.' The volume sliders also get a modern design, while other options are relocated to make the page feel less cluttered. After more than 16 years of development, the Android OS is packed with features. If they weren't organized, navigating them would be a mess. For a long time, that's exactly what Android's sound settings page felt like, but Google is finally cleaning it up in the next quarterly release of Android 16. After installing Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 on our Pixel device, we noticed that the Settings > Sound & vibration menu has received a major cleanup. Instead of presenting every setting in a single vertical list, the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta separates them by category. For instance, the 'phone ringtone,' 'default notification sound,' and 'default alarm sound' options are now grouped under a new 'sound patterns' section. Meanwhile, the 'Spatial Audio' and 'Media' items are under a new 'Audio' section. The five volume sliders remain at the top of the page, but they've been updated with the more modern Material 3 Expressive design seen in the volume panel. Furthermore, the 'audio will play on' entry no longer sits awkwardly between the media and call volume sliders but has been moved to the very top. Here's a gallery showing the Sound & Vibration settings page in Android 16 versus Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2: Sound & vibration settings in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 Sound & vibration settings in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 And if that's not enough to showcase the difference, here's a list that shows just how unorganized this page was before and after the update to Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2: Sound & Vibration settings in Android 16 Media volume Audio will play on Call volume Ring volume Notification volume Alarm volume Phone ringtone Live Caption Spatial audio Now Playing Media Vibration & haptics Default notification sound Default alarm sound Clear Calling Dial pad tones Screen locking sound Charging sounds and vibration Tap & click sounds Always show icon when in vibrate mode Sound & Vibration Settings in Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 Volume Audio will play on Media volume Call volume Ring volume Notification volume Alarm volume Vibration & haptics Sound patterns Phone ringtone Default notification sound Default alarm sound Audio Spatial Audio Media System sounds & vibrations Dial pad tones Screen locking sound Charging sounds and vibration Tap & click sounds Always show icon when in vibrate mode Live Caption Adaptive Sound Now Playing Clear Calling I'm glad to see Google finally start to tidy up Android's sound settings in Android 16 QPR1. This is something I complained about back in 2023, as I noticed Google was reorganizing many other pages in the Settings app while leaving the Sound & vibration page untouched. The Material 3 Expressive redesign, which places menu items in separate cards, goes a long way in making the Settings app feel less cluttered. However, the Sound & vibration page previously undermined this by keeping all its options in one long, vertical list. While the new page still has too many settings under the 'system sounds & vibrations' section at the bottom, it's much better than before. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Phone Arena
28-05-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
Google pushes out new Google Search widget for Android with custom shortcut icon
Google has started disseminating a redesigned Google Search widget for Android phones. The previous look for the Search widget was a pill-shaped field with the Google "G" logo on the left. An additional Search shortcut could be seen as you moved toward the right of the pill followed by the microphone icon for voice input. The new look starts with the same search bar in a container with an extra circle that is next to the right side of the container to hold the icon of the custom shortcut you select. So let's repeat what the new look features. The "G" logo, which opens the Google app when tapped, stays on the left with the microphone icon toward the right. That is followed by Google Lens to close the container. There is then a separate circle that you can add a custom shortcut to. This new Google Search widget is a little thicker than the old one. The new look is a 4 x 1 layout instead of the 3 x 1 look for the bar that has been replaced. To select which icon you want for the circle at the very end of the widget, long press on the widget and tap the pencil icon that appears. This will take you to a page where you can select from several themes for the Search widget including System, Light, Dark, Device, and Custom. Tap on Shortcuts to choose the custom icon from these options: None Translate (for text) Song Search Weather Translate (Camera) Sports Dictionary Homework Finance Saved News Keep in mind that this is the Google Search widget and not the iconic Pixel Launcher search bar. It is unknown whether Google will add the new look to the Pixel Launcher search bar although at this stage there are no changes to that search bar. How to set the custom shortcut icon on the new Google Search widget for Android. | Image credit-PhoneArena The Google Search widget is part of the version 16.19 update to the Android version of the Google app. It is a server-side update and if it doesn't show up, try a Force Stop of the app. To put the widget on your phone, long press on the Home Screen and you'll get a box with options including Wallpaper & style, widgets, Apps list, and Home settings. Tap on Widgets and scroll down to Google. Tap on the 4 x 1 search bar widget. Follow the directions we gave you earlier in the story for adding a custom shortcut icon and you will have the new Google Search widget on your Android phone .
