Here’s an early look at the Material 3 Expressive changes headed to the Google app (APK teardown)

The Google app on Android is set to receive some visual changes in line with Android’s new Material 3 Expressive design language. We’ve spotted these changes in the latest beta release (version 16.22.44), and here’s an early look at the upcoming design improvements.

Starting at the top, the status bar in the Google app has received a translucent gradient background. It gives the status bar a more modern look and is already live in the latest beta release. It’s a very subtle change, and you may not even notice it if you’re using the dark theme on your phone, but it’s more apparent when using the light theme.

Google is also working on a minor tweak for the progress bar that appears under the Search bar when you perform a search. The updated design is slightly thicker and more rounded, as shown in the following screenshot.

Lastly, Google is updating the scroll behavior of the tabs at the bottom of the screen. Currently, the tabs remain persistently visible as you scroll through the app. However, in a future release, Google plans to change this behavior and hide the tabs when you scroll through the feed.

The attached clip shows this new behavior and gives us a glimpse of the new Material 3 Expressive loading animation that will appear when you reach the bottom of the feed. The clip also shows a new “Refresh” button that appears under the search bar as you scroll through the feed, but it’s not functional in the current beta release.

We expect these changes to roll out to users in the coming days, and we’ll update this post as soon as they’re widely available.