Google Analytics updated with Google Material Theme tweaks on the web

Abner Li | Nov 8 2018 - 2:35 pm PT

The Google Material Theme is continually sweeping through the company’s Android apps, with some notable redesigns on the web with Google Keep and soon Contacts. Google Analytics is now the latest service to get some tweaks on desktop.

Compared to Gmail, this Material Theme isn’t as extensive and limited to one major element. Primary controls like the navigation drawer feature rounded indicators introduced at I/O 2018 to note the current section being viewed. Of course, the new Google Sans font is leveraged and does a great deal to modernize Analytics.

Like before, that side bar can be shrunken down to only show icons and hide the accompanying text label. However, those icons are not truly in the new Material Theme style. While dropping the orange accent, it still has the previous look and doesn’t use icons with thick outlines and hollowed out centers.

Meanwhile, the app bar is now a brighter shade of white instead of gray, with the same treatment also visible with the app’s entire background.

: Old

: New

The rest of the app, however, is still a mismatch of older Google design languages. Last year, Analytics received a new Home tab with bright backgrounds and new tab indicators. This is closer to the current Google Material Theme, but there are many other charts and graphs in the service that look much older. For example, the Real-Time Overview screen is unchanged.

Revamping a service as big — and important — as Google Analytics is a big task, but Google is on the way there with something as crucial as navigation. The company just brought Analytics under the revamped Google Marketing Platform.