Google Maps will get a nifty new upgrade with the continued rollout of the Material 3 (M3) Expressive update, the Android creator’s new visual identity that it’s slowly pushing to its suite of apps.
Let’s see what you can expect from the Android 16-powered update (and why it might be so subtle you won’t immediately notice it).
What’s happened?
This isn’t just a visual refresh, but a clever redesign of where key buttons go and how certain information is presented. They key changes are:
- Navigational buttons, such as ‘Directions’, ‘Ask’ (Gemini) and ‘Share’ are now locked to the bottom of the screen
- Overviews, reviews, photos etc have all been moved to the top in the place of the buttons
- Other information, like addresses or phone numbers, are now housed in M3 Expressive ‘containers’
Why does this matter?
- While this change isn’t huge, it’s about refining the experience, making it easier to use the app and bringing it visually in line with other apps that have been updated since Android 16 launched
- It will make the phone easier to use with one hand, which is important when navigating on the go
- There might still be more changes, with 9to5Google noting that Dynamic Color (which can change a color palette to match user settings, like wallpapers) still isn’t used
OK, so what’s next?
- This is only in the beta version of the app, so we’ll need to wait and see what the final version will look like when it arrives
- Google Maps looks to be getting other updates soon, such as bringing Live Updates to the Always On screen (much like on iOS)
- 9to5 Google has a good selection of images of what the new Maps update will look like – check it out, as we think that it looks a lot better, even if the tweaks are small.
