Following the trend set by many other Google apps, Google News is the next product set to gain a Material You redesign on Android, and we have your first look.
About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in the case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.
In the buildup to the release of Android 12 and the Pixel 6, Google steadily brought Material You redesigns to a variety of their apps. Material You is the company’s third iteration of the Material Design language and is hallmarked by its flat components and colorful customization.
While a surprising number of Google’s most popular apps were updated to the new style, including some like Translate that were still on the original Material Design, Google News has so far stayed unchanged. By contrast, Google News, alongside Gmail, was one of the first apps to be demonstrated in 2018’s second-generation Material Theming.
Using the latest update to Google News, version 3.53, our Dylan Roussel was able to enable the app’s upcoming Material You redesign. For now, the only element that has changed is the bottom navigation bar, which is now taller, has a slight hue to it, and features a pill shape that indicates which tab you’re on, a distinct trait of Material You.
Digging a little deeper, this is only the beginning of the makeover, with layout tweaks planned for the For You tab. Notably, Google News also does not yet respect the Android 12 theme color, indicating that the Material You aspects of this redesign are still early in development. That being the case, we’re likely still a few weeks or months out from Google News making this new style widely available.
Dylan Roussel contributed to this article
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