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Google Podcasts gets Material You tweaks, Dynamic Color

Following the big update in August, Google Podcasts for Android is getting a straightforward Material You redesign, though it’s not yet widely rolled out.

It starts with the taller bottom bar that uses pill-shaped indicators to mark what tab you’re currently viewing. Meanwhile, that shape is no longer used for the play button that also notes episode length/time remaining. However the search field at the top of the “Explore” tab has not been updated and is still a rounded rectangle, while there are no changes in “Library.”

On Pixel phones running Android 12, Dynamic Color is present to theme all buttons and navigation elements in Google Podcasts. In the examples below, green replaces blue everywhere, including the Now Playing screen, progress indicator, and top tabs. 

While the changes are minor, it’s a good sign for how widespread the Material You mandate is at Google. The Podcasts app usually only sees visual refreshes once a year.

Since the experience is driven by the Google app, today’s update serves as a hopeful sign that Google Weather will also get some MY tweaks even though it was just refreshed. Meanwhile, Google Lens at the start of this month received a small touch of Material You. That said, the core Google Discover or Search experiences have yet to be updated.

The Material You touches in Google Podcasts are not yet widely rolled, even in the beta channel (version 12.37). It’s rolling out to both Android 12 and older OS releases.

More Material You:

Thanks Tim

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com