Google’s App Store has had its fair share of redesigns since its days as Android Market. Its most recent changes have been the complete menu reorganization and the latest Material You skin, although the changes don’t stop there. Google Play was very gridded, and now it’s getting ready a design where the curves return.
Google Play has always been a square thing, even back in the days of Material Theming when curves were all the rage. With Material You, Google bets more on rounded squares than on circles, but nevertheless, Google Play bets for the first time on the curves of your buttons. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Wait, the curves are coming
Material You is one of the big new features of Android 12 and Google was quick to apply it to several of its apps, including its Google Play store. Since November of last year, Google Play got a makeover with touches from Material You evident in its search bar and navigation bar, but other interface elements remained basically the same, such as the buttons.
The latest design tweak, which Google has been testing since at least the start of this month, gives Google Play a new twist with buttons that are no longer squared after a life where they were almost boxes.
Old design (left) and new design (right)
Older folks will remember the Google Play buttons back when the app was still mostly green (not white), with virtually no curvature. the 2018 Theming Material It barely managed to make a dent in its grille, with slightly sharper rectangular buttons, but hardly any change.
Now, Google switches to round buttons, while the floating buttons change from round to square with curved edges. It sounds paradoxical – and in a way it is – but for once it matches the design rules of Material You created by Google: the buttons should be round, unless they float.
Previous design (left). New design (center and right). Some buttons are still square.
As always, this is one of many tests that Google is used to doing, so it’s impossible to know when this design will reach everyone. Arrive, in theory, should reach everyone, because as we mentioned before, Google’s own rules dictate that the buttons have to be like that.
