Material Design

Better late than never – PC gamers will be happy to know that Android version 2.0.7 of the popular Steam social network and game distribution store brings with it a complete redesign of the app to follow Google’s Material Design guidelines.

As always, you won’t be doing any gaming from this app as Steam doesn’t sell mobile games and won’t stream desktop games to mobile devices, but you can do just about everything else; purchase games, message friends, access the Steam Guard authenticator, and more. We’ll keep you posted if we notice any other major changes.

For reference, here’s a taste of what the app looked like prior to this update:

If you’ve had any doubts about how far Android has come since 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, let these two (horrifying) screenshots serve as a reminder.

The update hasn’t propagated across Google Play yet, but if you head over to APK Mirror you can download it now (click here).

Medium’s Android app is now live in the Google Play Store

Tom Maxwell Jun 24 2015 - 1:36 pm PT

Beleaguered media darling Medium, a platform for anyone to write and share stories amongst its large community, has finally released its Android app to Google Play. The app works on devices running 4.4 KitKat and above, and features all the Material Design goodness you’ve come to expect since Lollipop – so it wasn’t just a port of the company’s iOS app.

Google changes heart on splash screens, adding them to its own apps

Tom Maxwell Jun 24 2015 - 9:45 am PT

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Well this is an interesting change for Google. The company is one-by-one rolling out updates to its in-house Android apps that include splash screens. These screens (screenshots via a user on Reddit) are displayed during the 2-3 seconds between tapping an apps’ icon and the app actually loading.

Dropbox 3.0 introduces Material Design to the cloud storage app

Tom Maxwell Jun 22 2015 - 2:18 pm PT

Dropbox fans, you’re in luck – version 3.0.0 is completely redesigned to follow Google’s Material Design guidelines.

Burner 3.0 introduces unified inbox, Material Design, Android Wear app

Tom Maxwell Jun 18 2015 - 11:53 am PT

Burner, the popular app for creating throwaway phone numbers that can be used for making calls and sending text messages, has received a large update to its Android app today. The new app has three key additions, so let’s go through them.

The first major change you’ll notice upon updating the app is that it’s been completely redesigned. FABs (floating action buttons), new colors, transitions – the app now adheres to Google’s Material Design guidelines. You can see what the new app looks like above, but here’s a taste of what the app looked like before today’s update:

The next big change is the addition of unified inboxes. These will come in handy for Burner users who have more than one number in the app, placing all messages and missed calls into one inbox with color-coding so as you scroll through all your calls and messages or start replying to one, you’ll know which Burner number the message came through.

Finally, there’s now also an Android Wear app. But don’t worry, there’s no keyboard access – the app allows you to view notifications and messages, and reply using voice commands.

The company behind the app says that this update was built upon the feedback they’ve received from users, and that this is just the beginning of “a ton of new features that will be coming to Android.”

Google releases an Android version of Topeka, its Material Design example code

Stephen Hall Jun 16 2015 - 1:20 pm PT

Last year, Google launched the Topeka web app as an “Open Source example” of what material design should look like on the web, and now they’re doing much the same—but for Android. The company took to its Android Developers’ blog to announce the Android version of Topeka, which the company hopes will help demonstrate the same Material Design principles for its mobile platform.

Today, we’re publishing a new material design example: The Android version of Topeka. It demonstrates that the same branding and material design principles can be used to create a consistent experience across platforms.

Like the Topeka web app, you can find Topeka for Android on GitHub. Within, you’ll find many examples of transition implementation, Material animations, vector drawables for displaying icons, unit and instrumentation tests, and more.

Here’s how to adjust or disable those Material Design animations in Android M

Tom Maxwell Jun 15 2015 - 1:29 pm PT

If you’re anything like me, the transitions and animations present in recent iterations of the popular smartphone operating systems can be both beautiful and nauseating at the same time. The extra time allotted for an app to fly up from the bottom of the screen can also make your phone feel a little bit slower than it really is. For these reasons, whenever I get a new phone I make sure to reduce the animations as much as I can while still getting a pleasant navigation experience, and with lots of people installing Android M soon I thought I’d show you how to do it yourself.

Slack for Android updated with much faster navigation, emoji support, more

Tom Maxwell Jun 3 2015 - 11:41 am PT

Slack, the workplace communication service that has taken the corporate communications space by storm, has released what is says is a “better, faster, and all around Android-ier” Slack app for Android, rewritten from the ground up. The biggest changes to come with this new version are a faster user experience for navigating around the app and the introduction of new user interface elements which follow the Material Design guidelines set forth by Google.

Google highlights best-in-class app designs with Material Design Showcase & Awards

Zac Hall May 29 2015 - 9:40 am PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtu7ZOQScrI]

As part of Google I/O week, the company is highlighting a number of Play Store apps that use Material Design in different ways. To do this, Google is launching the Material Design Showcase on the Play Store and issuing Material Design Awards to select apps for the first time.
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Google gives its Developers website a Material Design overhaul

Stephen Hall May 28 2015 - 1:49 pm PT

Almost a year after Google took the wraps off of Material Design at I/O 2014, the Mountain View company has today updated its Developers website with a visual overhaul to bring its appearance in line with that of Android Lollipop. This isn’t the first of Google’s properties to get the new design (as we saw Google Play Music get a redesign in May), but it’s yet another one of Google’s properties that is falling in line with the new look.
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Google Maps 9.9 brings native Maps to Android Wear devices, translucent status bar, more

Stephen Hall May 19 2015 - 2:30 pm PT

Google Maps was updated to version 9.9 today, and with this incremental update comes an actual Google Maps app on Android Wear devices (surprise, surprise?), a translucent status bar (finally!), and more…
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Google testing changes to its mobile search interface, Material Design tabs included

Stephen Hall May 17 2015 - 1:03 pm PT

Old on the left, new on the right

It appears that Google is testing a new design for the header of its mobile search website, featuring a much more spread-out interface including a larger text entry box, navigation tabs, and Google logo. The size and placement of the actual search results seem to be identical, however…

Google Play Music on the web updated with new Material Design interface

Chance Miller May 14 2015 - 12:33 pm PT

If you head over to the web version of Google Play Music, you’ll notice that it has received a major interface refresh to be more in line with Google’s Material Design efforts. The interface is very similar to the Play Music Android app, just with some optimization for the desktop.

PSA: WhatsApp stable channel updated with Material Design

Stephen Hall May 14 2015 - 9:31 am PT

WhatsApp got Material Design in beta a few versions ago (and most avid users of the service have probably been on that version for a while), but now the official Play Store listing has been updated to version 2.12.84, bringing Material Design with it.

Other than a visual overhaul, this version doesn’t appear to pack any substantial changes. It was just recently, however, that the app was updated to bring voice calling to all users—another feature that WhatsApp had been testing for months before it was pushed to the masses.

You can grab the latest version of WhatsApp on the Play Store for free.

Nova Launcher 4.0 w/ Material Design goes stable, packs a few new features

Stephen Hall May 14 2015 - 7:10 am PT

We told you back in March when the first Material-redesigned beta of Nova Launcher came out, but now Kevin Barry, the app launcher’s creator, has officially released the new Nova Launcher on its stable channel…
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Chrome OS beta update brings Material Design to Files app, other new features

Jordan Kahn Mar 17 2015 - 12:59 pm PT

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Google today released the latest Beta channel release for Chrome OS users and with it comes a few new features that should arrive for all soon.

First up, the beta release brings Material Design to the Files app, the ability to pin apps to the shelf, and support for password-protected zip files.

The update also includes an updated calculator app, according to Google highlight of features on its Chrome Releases blog, and “bug fixes, security updates and feature enhancements”

The new Chrome OS beta, version 42.0.2311.41, is rolling out for all Chrome OS devices in the coming days except the following: “Pixel, Acer Chromebox CXI, LG Chromebase, Asus Chromebox, Dell Chromebox, HP Chromebox, HP Chromebook 14, Toshiba Chromebook, Acer C720, Dell Chromebook 11.”

Mark your calendars: Google I/O 2015 is happening May 28-29, 2015 at Moscone Center West

Stephen Hall Feb 10 2015 - 12:14 pm PT

Google has today announced the dates for this year’s Google I/O developers’ conference, with the annual event being set for May 28th and 29th, 2015. According to the event’s website (which is notably completely plastered with Material Design), registration begins March 17th, 2015 at 9 AM PDT.

Google’s Field Trip app updated with Material Design

Stephen Hall Jan 20 2015 - 11:03 am PT

You might not have heard of it, but Google has a first-party app on the Play Store called Field Trip that basically serves as a guide to all things located in your vicinity. The Mountain View company just recently released a new version of the app, bringing to it Material Design and a flurry of other improvements.

While the app used to sport a vintage look and feel that made it somewhat unique, the new version goes the opposite direction and simplifies the entire experience. In addition to the redesign, Google says that the new version comes with new content from “hundreds” of publishers and performance improvements.

Here’s the full change log:

V2.0.5

* New sleek & modern design.

* Easier to discover and browse more cool stuff around you.

* New content from hundreds of publishers.

* Performance improvements.

You can get Field Trip on the Play Store for free.

Google gives Chrome for iOS a Material redesign, OS X Handoff support, & iOS 8/iPhone 6 optimizations

Jordan Kahn Jan 20 2015 - 10:15 am PT

Google is today rolling out Chrome 40 for iOS and with it bringing Material Design to Chrome users on iDevices, OS X Handoff support, and optimizations for iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
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WordPress for Android updated w/ Material Design interface enhancements

Chance Miller Jan 7 2015 - 2:03 pm PT

Screenshots of the prior version

WordPress today has announced an update to its Android app, bumping it to version 3.5. The update adds a handful of new features, but most notably it gives the app an interface overhaul to make it fit in with the Material Design theme on Android. WordPress has added round avatars, a plethora of new icons, and changed the colors of the interface for users.

New website enables developers to generate and export Material Design color palettes

9to5 Staff Dec 17 2014 - 8:23 am PT

Last weekend, Berlin-based developer Matt Aussaguel decided to further his Material Design exploration by creating a website for generating and exporting Material Design color palettes for Android Lollipop. Aussaguel believes that Material Palette could be the first Material Design color palette generator and a very useful tool for both developers and user interface designers alike.
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Google iOS app updated w/ Material Design, Street View integration, more

Zac Hall Dec 11 2014 - 9:26 am PT

Google is rolling out a completely redesigned version of its iPhone and iPad app with its Material Design look and feel right down to the app icon.

The latest version of the search app now presents a bottom navigation bar (which can slide out of view) that presents a persistent Google button for searching for new information. The navigation bar also offers a button for quickly accessing recent search pages, something that feels similar to multitasking between apps on Android.

Also notable as part of the redesign is the optimization searching for photos has received. In the latest version of Google’s iOS app, image results now take on a full-screen, mosaic look for presenting larger results. The update also packs in deep Google Maps integration for location searches including support for Google Street View right in the app for iPhone users. You can read the full change log below:
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Google account settings page gets Material Design makeover, new URL

Ben Lovejoy Dec 11 2014 - 7:17 am PT

Google has updated its account settings page with a material design makeover, and a shiny new myaccount.google.com URL. In a brief blog post, Google said:

Tabs have been removed in favor of a simple, single landing page that links directly to existing account resources. All other functionality is unchanged.

The YouTube for Android app also got a material design update a few days ago.

YouTube for Android updated to version 6 with Material Design and new search filters (Update)

Mike Beasley Dec 5 2014 - 5:45 pm PT

YouTube for Android has finally been updated with a Material Design interface for devices running Lollipop. The entire app has been redesigned, from the “What to Watch” screen to individual channel and video pages.

Aside from the new design, the updated app also includes many new filter options for searches, allowing users to find videos that meet specific criteria. For example, you can now search only for videos that are available in HD, or have closed captioning enabled. You can also search for live streams.