Google Search widget regains custom colors theme on Android

Abner Li | Oct 31 2024 - 10:23 am PT

Back in August, the Google Search bar widget was updated with Dynamic Color, and it’s now bringing back “Custom” colors.

When Google redesigned the Customize interface for the Search bar widget, the Theme options were limited to always Light or Dark, System, and Device (Dynamic Color).

The latest Google app beta (version 15.43) introduces a “Custom” theme with controls for Hue and Saturation. Along with Transparency, these sliders use the latest Material 3 design with a thick, pill-shaped line and a vertical bar for the handle that is physically separated.

You see a preview above, while you can “Reset” in the top-right corner.

This is the “Google” widget that you have to manually place on your homescreen, and not the Pixel Launcher’s. To tune, open the Google app and tap your profile avatar in the top-right corner for Settings > Customize Search widget.

Custom color for the Google Search widget is not yet in the stable channel, but should be available in a few weeks.

Looking ahead, Google might possibly let users add a shortcut for Translate (text), Song Search, Weather, Translate (camera), or Finance next to Google Lens and the voice search microphone.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, Google tweaked the Song Search widget so that it’s a blue musical note on a white background instead of the opposite. This follows the addition of a QS Tile.