Google highlights its ‘Beautiful Design Summer 2013 Collection’ – that’s apps, not clothes

By Trevor Mogg July 5, 2013

Whichever mobile platform you’re with, whether its iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, or whatever, you’re bound to have downloaded your fair share of dud apps, apps that promised so much in their description notes but disappointed once installed and opened.

With the launch on Google Play this week of the Beautiful Design Summer 2013 Collection (sounds like a new line of Google-branded clothing for the coming months – but it’s not), the Android Design Team is highlighting apps that truly press the right buttons when it comes to outstanding design.

It’s hoped the collection will not only please punters on the hunt for a decent app or two, but also serve as a guide for developers looking for ideas and inspiration on what exactly makes a beautifully designed app.

There are currently 11 in the new collection: Pattrn (discover and share unique wallpapers on any size screen device), Pocket (read saved articles offline) Timer (you got it, it’s a timer app), Eye in Sky Weather (about clouds ‘n’ things), New York Times (news from the famous newspaper), Grand St (curated marketplace for creative technology), Pinterest (image-based social network), Press (RSS reader), Expedia Hotels (vacation, anyone?), Flipboard (magazine-style news reader), and TED (talks by fascinating people). Most are free. All of them look pretty darn great.

Introducing the collection on the Android Developers Blog, Marco Paglia explained what he thinks makes a “masterfully crafted” app.

“Attention to detail makes an app truly beautiful,” Paglia wrote. “Transitions are fast and clear, layout and typography are crisp and meaningful, and design touches that delight you in surprising ways are sprinkled throughout.” So iFart Mobile probably wouldn’t make the grade, then.

Paglia suggests developers creating new apps should take a moment to check out the collection “to get a sense for the types of design details that can separate good apps from great ones.”

To load up Paglia’s recommended apps, hop over to here. Know any you’d like to see alongside these?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

Google overhauls its Family Link app for easier parental controls

Google Family Link app.

Google's Family Link app has been a great resource for parents looking to keep an eye on what their children are up to with their devices. Now, it's getting even better thanks to an app overhaul that puts the focus on safety and communication. While the Google Family Link app has previously been praised for its solid parental control settings, the redesign adds plenty of new features that make it easier than ever for parents to monitor smart device usage while keeping children informed about the parental control settings in place.

In addition to a design update that sorts the app into three main tabs (Highlights, Controls, and Location), there's also a laundry list of new features coming to Family Link. Since safety is a huge part of what makes the app appealing, features such as notification alerts when a device arrives at a specific destination (like school or a friend's house) and the ability to see an individual device's battery life are new additions that give parents peace of mind when their kids leave the house.

Mobile

Google wants you to know Android apps aren’t just for phones anymore

Person holding Samsung Galaxy smartphone showing Google Play Store.

When most people think of the Google Play Store, the first thing that comes to mind is smartphones. However, the spread of the Android ecosystem is far broader than that, and Google is taking steps to increase awareness of this and make it easier for folks to find apps on the Play Store for their smart TVs, watches, and even cars.

In a blog post today, the Google Play team announced three significant changes that should make it easier for Android fans to discover apps for all their devices, right from their phone. This includes recommendations of apps for non-phone devices, a search filter to focus on only games optimized for non-phone devices, and even a remote install feature that will let you deliver those apps to your Android TV, Wear OS watch, or Android Automotive-equipped car.

Mobile

Google Play Store now offers third-party app payments, but only for some users

The Google Play store icon on an Android phone.

Google will now open up its Play Store as a result of the European Union's Digital Markets Act, the company announced today. Now, any developers distributing apps or games in Europe (the European Economic Area, to be precise) will be able to sidestep the Google Play billing system with no penalty. The change comes after a similar push in South Korea.

"As of today, Google will not remove or reject updates of non-gaming apps from participating developers for offering alternative billing systems for EEA users. Google Play’s billing system will continue to be required for apps and games distributed via Play to users outside the EEA and for games distributed to users within the EEA. We expect to expand billing alternatives to developers of gaming apps for their users in the EEA, in advance of the DMA's effective date," Google's Estelle Werth, director of EU Government Affairs and Public Policy, said in a blog post.