9to5Google

Google's colorful Material You theme works in these apps

By Ben Schoon

September 14, 2021

Material You is Google's new design language for Android, and it's set to be fully embraced by Pixel phones soon. The big trick of this feature is that it has the ability to change its look to match the colors of your wallpaper throughout the operating system and apps that support the feature.

Even before Android 12 has been released, some apps are already taking advantage of the new design. This comes in the form of new UI elements as well as "Dynamic Color" which can match the system accent color and use that throughout the rest of the operating system.

What apps support Android 12's wallpaper-based colors?

As of mid-September, over 20 apps support Material You and Dynamic Color in some capacity. Let's take a look...

Google Calculator

One of our favorite examples so far is Google Calculator, which brings out some beautiful themes that pull multiple colors out of your wallpaper for the different screen elements. The update comes with v8.0 of the app which is bundled with Android 12.

Google Clock

Another great example of Material You used to its fullest potential is Google Clock, which brought a big redesign with Android 12. Like Calculator, it pulls some fantastic themes from your wallpaper and just looks gorgeous in certain themes.

Google Phone & Contacts

The Google Phone and Google Contacts apps were some of the first to adopt Dynamic Color. Both have tweaked UI elements such as the search bar and buttons, and the bottom bar picks up tinted colors based on the system accent.

Google Workspace Apps

Beyond stock Android apps, Google is also bringing Material You to some of its most popular apps — Workspace apps. This includes Gmail, Keep, Meet, Drive, and more.

Google Camera & Lens

More subtle examples of Material You in apps include that of Google Camera and Lens, both of which only use Dynamic Color to adjust some sparse UI elements.

Gboard

Perhaps the most fun Material You redesign, though, comes in the form of Gboard. The clever design has vibrant shades of the accent colors, has a neat circular letter preview pop-up, and more. 

What app do you want to get a Material You update?

Material You is a brand new design legacy, and as such it's going to take time to expand. There are a few third-party apps with support including Tasker, Inware, and Sleep as Android, but it'll be a little while before it expands. What app do you want to see updated?