Google Unveils Material 3 Expressive Design, Bringing a Big Refresh for Android and Wear OS Devices
The Material 3 Expressive design as already known is a major and one of the biggest updates from the brand’s side in years, and it is built upon the Material You design that came out about four years back. Just like Material You, Google has focused personalization as the core for Material 3 Expressive too, along with smooth user interactions and glanceable-helpful information.
Read more about the newly-unveiled Material 3 Expressive design below.
Material 3 Expressive – Officially Unveiled Ahead of Google’s I/O 2025
As mentioned, the Material 3 Expressive design from Google is build upon the previous Material You design, and it brings many more customization options that will allow users to have a personalized experience on their respective Android devices. Material 3 Expressive is also more fluid in nature and it has a more natural and springy animation style – aimed at bringing delight to daily things. This can be seen across the entire system, from the notification shade, recent apps screen, to the volume slider. Moreover, a subtle blur is brought to the shade background – offering users a sense of depth.
Customization options such as dynamic color themes, responsive components, and emphasized typography have also been updated on Android, and the brand plans to expand it to Google apps – like Gmail, Google Photos, and Fitbit. Google has also adopted a design approach balancing both modern aesthetics and improved functionality, and lets users customize Quick Settings and add actions for DND and Flashlight. The new Live Updates feature is also there – providing real-time information from navigation apps, delivery apps, and more.
When it comes to Wear OS-running smartwatches, Material 3 Expressive design is centered on delivering better user experience on round displays. Fluid operations, scrolling animations, more accessible information, refreshed daily experiences, and shape-morphing elements are its key characteristics. The brand has also brought dynamic color-theming – so the theme chosen for the watch face appears throughout the watch user interface. Furthermore, glanceable buttons and engaging tiles are also a part of it.
Speaking more, Google has also shared that it is working with partners to bring more design improvements to Android 16 and Wear OS 6 devices. Also to add, with the Wear OS update, 10% more battery life can be enjoyed. The above-mentioned feature will also be accessible on Pixel devices later this year as per what has been shared.
