Google shows off new app designs in satisfyingly slick sizzle reel
A new trailer from Google has given us our best look yet at its new Material Design guidelines, which will define how Android apps are expected to look from now on.
The trailer was pulled after it attracted media attention, but the team at WinFuture.de managed to rip a copy before it disappeared. You can watch it here, partly because it’s interesting to see the new designs, but mostly because it’s a very satisfying watch.
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Ars Technica notes that these app designs are unlikely to be final. For example, it shows placeholders for the shapes of the status bar icons. Past sizzle reels have also featured designs for apps like Google Music, which never saw the light of day.
That said, there are still some general indicators in this video for what the future of Android’s design might hold.
The single biggest design trend seems to be the amount of white space, which has increased considerably. Design elements such as clocks have been changed to make their elements smaller against the white background, and icons have been rejigged to give them more internal white space.
It’s all very clean and sleek-looking, with the changes presumably having been informed by increases in screen resolution, which now mean that you can get away with finer details rather than having to rely on big blocky design elements.
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We’ve already seen some of these designs appear in the wild such as with Gmail’s recent redesign, but as we move towards a full release for Android P we’re likely to see more appear as updates.
What are your favourite design elements from the video? Get in touch with us @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.