Google continues the visual update of its applications with its new "Material 3 Expressive" design. After Gmail and Google Photos, it's the turn of Google Messages to begin its metamorphosis. But for now, only the chat screen is getting this facelift, and only on certain devices.
A new style for conversations on Google Messages
The old design of Google Messages. – Source: 9to5Google
The main change is in the messages interface. The chat bubble is now housed in a container with rounded corners, separate from the top bar, which adopts a darker shade. This visual separation offers a better hierarchy of the elements displayed on the screen. At the bottom, the "+" button opens a new menu: shortcuts to the gallery, GIFs or stickers are now displayed as pills instead of the traditional colored circles.
The new design of Google Messages. – Source: 9to5Google
Here again, the palette is darkening and the icons are losing color, to align with the more sober tone of the app. The emoji menu is also evolving: the tabs (Emojis, GIFs, Stickers, Photomoji) are grouped in a container with rounded edges, with the active tab displayed in a lighter capsule. The search bar is now located a notch lower to avoid stacking with the text field.
A gradual update
For the moment, this new design is only visible to some users. It was spotted on the beta version 20250528_00_RC00 of Google Messages, but only on Samsung smartphones. Other devices, even with the beta, do not seem to be affected yet.
The rest of the application (home screen, settings, search engine, etc.) has not yet been modified. Google is therefore taking a gradual approach for this transition to Material 3 Expressive. And as is often the case with Messages, the generalization of new features could take several weeks, or even a few months. So, a little patience, it's coming.
Source: 9to5Google
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