Google app 9.46 preps new Family Group setup, rolls back some Material Theme UIs [APK Insight]

The latest Google app beta is rolling out this afternoon with some minor changes. Google app 9.46 continues work on Assistant Households and oddly rolls back the Material Theme in certain areas.

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.

Assistant Households

Work on Assistant Households continues, and is now progressing to internal Googler testing. A message for employees references a “Family Group setup flow” that is “still in Dogfood.”

Today, a “family group” can feature up to six users and allows for the sharing of Google Play libraries, YouTube TV, Google One, and other services. Google might be working on a new setup interface, or one that adds new capabilities. In the context of Assistant, family groups could be used to share access to Home devices.

<string name=”assistant_settings_household_dogfood_text”>”************************************         DOGFOOD DISCLAIMER The Family Group setup flow you are about to access is still in Dogfood, and is only available to Googlers. Please do not discuss it outside Google. You must use an @gmail account to create a family group (not available to Gsuite accounts). To proceed, you must agree that: • You are employed by Google • You are over the age of 18 • You are not employed by a Google competitor • You are not a member of the press • You are not enrolled in Google’s trusted tester program • You are not modulefooding features of a non-family related GMS core client team *************************************”

Disables Material Theme tweaks

Google app 9.46 oddly disables several Material Theme tweaks, including the new, bolder bottom bar. The more significant regression is to the revamped “More” tab and reorganized Settings menu. This is most likely a temporarily bug with the release, rather than any meaningful change. Meanwhile, other Material Theme aspects like the pill-shared Search bar are still present.

Google Assistant for Chrome OS

When Google Assistant first debuted on the Pixelbook, it leveraged the Google app. With Chrome OS 72 in February, Assistant was natively integrated into the platform and made available on more Chromebooks. A string in Google app 9.46 advises users to update Chrome OS in order to get the latest iteration of Assistant.

Google Lens

The overflow menu in Google Lens now links to shortcuts for “Privacy Policy” and “Terms and Services.”

Puffy Game

Similar to Chrome’s “No internet” Dinosaur Easter Egg, there is a new mini-game in the Google app when you’re offline and not connected to the cloud. It is accessed by entering a query in airplane mode. The Flappy Bird-inspired game involves navigating a “Puffy” cloud with an umbrella through various weather-related obstacles.

How to update?

You can sign-up for the Google app’s beta program here or by heading to the Play Store listing on Android and scrolling to the bottom. The latest beta version of the Google app is immediately rolled out when it’s available.

We do not post APKs to download directly given the legal challenges associated with copyright and possibility of removal. Meanwhile, that model is perilous given Android App Bundles and Google Play’s Dynamic Delivery.

Thanks to JEB Decompiler, which some APK Insight teardowns benefit from.