The Google Play Store might soon get even more updated Material Design elements
The Google Play Store has already received its bigMaterial Youoverhaul, with its interface pulling colors based on your wallpaper onAndroid 12(at least on phones like thePixel 6and other Google devices, theGalaxy S22, and a few more). However, the Play Store’s design still hasn’t fully arrived in the present just yet, with its square buttons in particular out of line withGoogle’s latest Material Design guidelines. It looks like the company intends to change that, as it has been spotted working on bringing sleek new pill-shaped buttons to the app distribution platform.
As discovered in an APK teardown of the latest Play Store version, conducted by9to5Google, rounded pill-shaped buttons are all but ready to be deployed to users. While the familiar square buttons are still available by default for most (if not all) users, it’s clear that the company is preparing to enable the new look for everyone. 9to5Google was able to activate the upcoming buttons in their version of the Play Store ahead of time, and they really make for a more playful, less rigid look.
When activated, the rounded buttons are visible all across the interface, affecting theInstall, Update,andUninstallbuttons on an app’s listing as well as theUpdateandUpdate allshortcuts in thePending downloadsoverview. Interestingly, the chips for filters likeInstalled, Updates available,andGamesin theManage apps & deviceoverview are losing their pill-shaped form and get a squared look instead. This move is meant to help differentiate between filters and buttons and is consistent with other Google apps like Gmail and Photos.
For comparison: The current look
Right now, the interface tweak has yet to roll out to people, and it hasn’t been spotted in the wild at all as far as we know. However, given that the look already feels finished based on the screenshots, we wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t take Google all that long to activate them for everyone.
Broader branding hints at wider paid-tier ambitions
The note-taking app I should have used all along
Epic Games' win isn’t a win for users
It’s been a while
All for better imaging
Storage upgrades have never been so important
