Google Podcasts rolling out Material Theme player on Android

Abner Li | Oct 31 2019 - 5:08 pm PT

Back in September, we first enabled a Material Theme redesign of Google Podcasts for Android. A revamped player that’s larger and fits in with the company’s current design language is now rolling out.

The first change is apparent before you expand audio controls. From the Podcasts homescreen, show listings, search, etc., the compact player at the bottom no longer notes how many minutes are remaining. The episode title is now centered vertically, while the play/pause button is still to the right.

Tapping or sliding up reveals a new Material Theme player for Google Podcasts with curved top corners that almost takes up the entire screen. Cover art is prominently displayed with the show title and publisher underneath. Primary controls are next, followed by the timeline scrubber.

The first item in the bottom row is for Playback speed controls that have been adjusted to include common increments in circular buttons: 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.0x. Opening is accompanied by a slide up effect that shoves up the other controls.

The Sleep timer is unchanged save for a few visual tweaks, while “Info” still takes you to the full episode listing. An overflow menu lets you quickly share or “Mark as played,” with both of these actions new to the player.

This Material Theme player for Google Podcasts is currently available on the latest Google app beta (10.82). The other changes to the app we spotted in September are not yet live.