Google updates Assistant Reminders on Android with a dark theme

Abner Li | Sep 30 2021 - 10:28 pm PT

Reminders on Google products are a bit convoluted with multiple ways to create them across Android and Assistant smart home devices. You can view most alerts in the Assistant Reminders experience that Google just updated with a dark theme.

Today, you can create reminders in Google Assistant, Calendar, and Keep. Calendar is the nicest way to see all your alerts, but the Google app offers its own view. It can be accessed by tapping your profile image in the Google app (or Pixel Launcher Discover feed), while “Hey Google, open my reminders” also works on Android.

While it does not feel native whatsoever — e.g., the status bar is unnecessarily hidden, it’s simpler and more straightforward than Google Calendar. They are grouped by time or location with checkboxes to dismiss and a tap letting you edit. You can visually create new ones from the bottom-right FAB. Google also recently added a carousel of suggestions.

Previously, regardless of your system theme, this page always had a bright background. With a recent server-side update to the Google app, there’s now a very basic dark theme. It’s still slow as a web view, but at least the color is now consistent.

The Assistant Reminders view would ideally be native, but the dark theme is a start. One immediate fix should be the white flash on initial open.

In a way, Google Tasks is what Reminders would be if it were a native experience. However, that is more closely integrated with Workspace and Gmail, though it does appear (and can be created) in the Calendar app.