Google's Expressive Redesign Upgrades for Material 3 Are Being Unveiled
Google's Material 3 Expressive Redesign Rolls Out Across Several Apps
As of mid-August 2025, Google has begun the rollout of its Material 3 Expressive redesign across several of its Android apps. This redesign, which promises a more intuitive and visually appealing user experience, is set to continue into late August and September as part of the Android 16 feature update.
One of the first apps to widely adopt the Material 3 Expressive redesign is Google Meet. Each call is now placed in a large, tall card on the homepage, reflecting M3E's heavy use of containers. The pre-call screen features large, out-of-proportion voice and video call buttons, and the name, picture, and email address of the caller are placed in a pill and centered at the top. Various buttons have also been updated, with circles being replaced by rounded squares.
Google Messages has also undergone changes, with the list of conversations and message thread now placed in rounded containers. The 'plus' menu has been redesigned, with all options now placed in pills. Other parts of the app are also adopting the Material 3 Expressive design.
Gmail has seen emails and messages being placed in a container, and a prominent pill-shaped animation is now triggered when using swipe gestures to improve interaction feedback.
Google Keep has been updated with a thicker search bar, and the hamburger menu and profile switcher have been moved outside of it. Notes page buttons are now placed in containers for a more coherent look.
Google Wallet has seen changes with the app logo replacing "Wallet" in the top-left corner, passes are displayed on thicker cards, and the recent activity page now uses containers for better visual grouping.
Phone by Google has undergone a significant overhaul with Material 3 Expressive, including a redesigned bottom navigation bar, a new keypad tab replacing the floating action button, updated contact navigation, and refreshed incoming and in-call screen buttons with larger touch targets.
The Pixel Launcher and system UI have also been visually refreshed, with the home screen Google Search bar and iconography being given more personality and better theming. Quick Settings have become more customizable and fluid with bouncier animations. Notifications are now more compact and less cluttered overall.
The full rollout of Material 3 Expressive is expected with the Android 16 update and a Pixel Feature Drop in September 2025, continuing to expand and refine designs across Google’s app ecosystem. While many Google apps already show Material 3 Expressive updates—especially Files, Phone, Keep, Wallet, Messages, and Gmail—some refinements and wider availability remain forthcoming over the coming weeks and months.
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- Smartphones users might appreciate the improved design and user experience of Google's apps, such as Google Meet, Gmail, Google Messages, and Phone by Google, as they undergo changes with Google's Material 3 Expressive redesign.
- In addition to Android apps, the redesign also influences gadgets like the Pixel Launcher and system UI, offering a more personalized and themed home screen, customizable Quick Settings, and more compact, less cluttered notifications.
