Google is giving its Android app a little facelift and wants to make it cleaner and more organized. The focus of this update is the carousel, the handy little row of shortcuts that sits just below the search bar.
Previously, this carousel was a bit of a mess. It was crammed with five shortcuts, each with its own icon, full name, and even a short description. That was a lot to process, and the mix of upper and lower case letters didn't help matters. To make matters worse, the carousel was often split into two rows, making the app feel cluttered and cramped.
Now Google is going back to its iOS playbook and streamlining things. The new carousel features just four shortcuts, represented by simple, colorful icons. No more text, just clear images that get the point across. You'll recognize most of these shortcuts as ways to access various Google Lens features, while the last one is a handy sound search tool.
(Left) Google app shortcuts before redesign compared to new carousel redesign (right) | Image credit right – 9to5Google
One of the best things about this change is that you can now see all four shortcuts at once. No more scrolling back and forth unless you recently took a screenshot you want to analyze. Not only does this make the app look cleaner, but it also highlights the “Your Space” cards underneath that provide quick access to personalized information. This cleaner carousel design has been part of the Google Search app for iOS for some time, and now it's finally making its way to Android. If you're keen to try it out, you can find it in the latest beta version of the Google app (version 15.34). Just keep in mind that it's not yet available in the stable version, so it might be a little rough around the edges.
While this update may seem small, it's a welcome change for Android users who have been wanting a more polished and user-friendly Google app experience. It shows that Google pays attention to the little details and is committed to making its apps look and feel as good as possible.
It will be interesting to see how users react to this new design and whether Google decides to make similar changes to other parts of the app. For now, Android users can enjoy a slightly cleaner and more streamlined Google app that makes their search and discovery journeys a little smoother.