What you need to know
- Google is known for constantly changing the interface of its Android app and is considering moving the search bar to the bottom, a concept that has been tested since 2021.
- The new experiment includes a redesign of Material 3’s bottom bar, including a pill-shaped search field.
- The updated design introduces a default shade of blue, replacing Dynamic Color, to improve visual appeal and modernize the app’s appearance.
Google’s Android app likes to shake things up, especially with its interface, and it’s back at it with the idea of placing a search bar at the bottom. This experiment has been going on for some time, starting way back in 2021 and reappearing in late 2023.
As noted by a user on Xu (via 9to5Google ), a new test is underway. Google is apparently playing with the Material 3 redesign for the bottom bar, where it places a tablet-like search field right in the bar itself.
The big visual change might be with the search bar. It is currently located at the top of the application, but with the redesign it moves a little above the bottom bar. This may seem like a small change, but it actually makes it easier to reach the bar, no matter what phone you have.
The move could be Google’s way of acknowledging that our phones are getting huge. The search giant might think that the UX element at the top might not get as many clicks as it wants. So, dropping the search to the bottom could make it easier to tap and make your search experience much smoother.
In the old version, the search bar would shrink when you actually started searching. Now it stays big and bold, no matter what you’re looking for.
In the updated design, Google replaces Dynamic color for the default shade of blue, which really stands out on the search results page. This redesign of the bottom search bar gives the Google app a much more modern feel compared to the current look.
One big change you’ll notice is that in this redesign, the “Google” logo is no longer up at the top. Instead, you’ll see search filters like Images, Videos, Newsand much more immediately.
However, this shift means that more space is taken up that could be used to display search results instead.
Of course, the new design might reduce the number of search results you see initially, but hopefully it will make searching easier and faster for general use. We’ll have to see if it works when they release it to everyone.