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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Google released the latest Android feature drop.
- Material 3 Expressive has finally arrived, and it’s brilliant.
- You get more customizations, better animations, and performance.
When the latest Android feature drop hit my Pixel 9 Pro a few days ago, I was stunned.
There it was — everything I’ve been asking of Google. The company has finally given the Android interface a much-needed facelift.
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I knew it was coming; I’d even written about it when I discussed the first time I’d installed the beta of Android 16. When I “upgraded” to the beta version, I was immediately disappointed that Material 3 Expressive wasn’t included.
Since then, Google has slowly released Material 3 Expressive, one feature at a time. With the latest update, we finally get the full monty, and it is a thing of beauty.
I haven’t had the pleasure of saying that about Android for a long time.
I’ll take that even further and say that Material 3 Expressive is more elegant than iOS’s UI (and that’s saying something).
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But what does it all mean? Google’s explanation and description of Material 3 Expressive has been less-than-helpful (at least to me).
Essentially, the Material 3 Expressive UI takes big cues from two things:
- Your chosen wallpaper
- Your chosen color palette
Prior to this new release, the above features didn’t really do much. Sure, there were subtle hints of those options peppered throughout the UI, but now you really see it. Those colors are adopted throughout Android 16’s interface, from the App Drawer to the Notification Shade to app UIs and much more.
It’s pervasive and lovely.
For example, the Notification Shade is no longer a solid black (which always seemed out of place when you prefer not to use the Dark Mode).
The Notification Shade is no longer an eyesore.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
As well, the App Drawer is no longer that ugly shade of whatever-gray-you-call-that. Now, the drawer actually includes a nice blur (along with your chosen color palette).
Finally, an App Drawer worthy of the Pixel phone.
Jack Wallen/ZDNET
You can even opt to use themed icons, which also adapt to your chosen colors.
It’s not just about pretty colors
Material 3 Expressive isn’t just about the UI adapting to your chosen color palette. Another thing I noticed right away was that animations are actually fluid and meaningful. You notice the animations, as opposed to wondering if Android even has them. There’s no mistaking it now.
On top of that, the fonts now stand out and are far more readable than they previously were. Granted, I have to enlarge the fonts slightly (because of my aging eyes), but reading anything on Android has now become a treat.
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I believe that this is the first time Android has been able to make the Pixel hardware really shine. I say that because Pixel devices are the first to receive this update (one of the reasons I’ve continued to stick with Pixel phones). Prior to Material 3 Expressive, the Android UI never seemed to live up to what the Pixel phone hardware could deliver. That is no longer the case.
Speaking of which, I don’t know if it’s just me (or the smoother animations), but Android seems to perform considerably better now. It’s not that I had a lot of complaints about the performance, but when you get a noticeable bump, it catches your attention. Whatever Google did with the latest Android feature drop, it struck gold because my Pixel 9 Pro feels brand new.
I can honestly say that I’ve never seen Android look this good or perform this well.
Bravo, Google, you’ve finally elevated Android to that next level we’ve been waiting for.
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