Google Keep gains Google Material Theme redesign on Android [Gallery]

Abner Li | Oct 17 2018 - 4:38 pm PT

Last month, Google Keep was quietly renamed to “Keep Notes” on Android. That change is still not reflected on the Play Store or the web app, but the service is now rolling out the Google Material Theme.

This visual revamp was foretold in April with the new Gmail that features a sidebar widget. The new Google Keep features a stark white background like every other Material Theme redesign.

Gone is the yellow in the app bar, with the top bar also replaced by a full-width search field that lacks the “Notes” descriptor. A hamburger button is to the left followed by a button to switch between single and multi-column views.

Your Google avatar is in the top-right, with the account switcher removed form the navigation drawer. Tapping slides up a new panel to switch accounts. That drawer is still present to list all your labels and quickly jump to Reminders, Archive, Trash, and Settings.

The new Google Keep is much more compact, with Google no longer bolding short notes in the main view. Cards for notes now feature thin outlines with rounded corners, while labels are pill-shaped. Google Sans is of course leveraged, while the toolbar to “Take a note” at the bottom features new icons for making a list, drawing, voice dictation, and inserting an image.

New icons for pinning, setting a reminder, and archiving are also present in the upper-right corner of a note, as well as in the overflow menu to adjust color and add media. In this view, the app bar is now merged with the status strip, as well as the text field for a very clean and minimalist look.

Otherwise, app functionality is unchanged, with Google Keep being one of the starker redesigns to the Google Material Theme. This text heavy app, like Google Calendar, looks particularly bold with the lack of color and new, smaller font.

Version 5.0.411.09.40 is rolling out now via the Play Store.