This is Material Design Expressive

The filtration reveals a more vibrant and accessible interface that will arrive with Android 16: floating buttons, intense colors and blur effects mark the return to a more emotional design

No one expected a filtration of this caliber, and less from Google itself, but the truth is that The new Expressive Material has been exposed Before time. An error in the company’s official blog revealed complete details about the largest visual redesign of Android in years, which will officially arrive with Android 16 and promises to completely transform the experience of use in our mobiles.

As TechCrunch has published on its website, Google quickly eliminated the information, but not enough to prevent it from spreading. The new design language will be presented during the Google I/or on May 20 and 21, and is a Radical turn towards more emotional and vibrant interfaces.

A design designed to reconnect with users

We are going to put in context what this change means. Material Design has gone through several evolutions since its initial launch, being material you in 2021 its last great update. The problem is that, according to internal criticism of Google itself since 2022, The applications had become too uniform and boring. Material 3 Expressive seeks to solve this with more intense colors (predominance of violets and corals), uncovered blur effects and floating buttons with greater visual hierarchy.

The results seem promising, since the internal tests carried out by Google show that users identify the main actions four times faster With the new design. A clear example we will see in Gmail, where the sending button will float on the keyboard, or in the clock app, where active alarms will stand out with bright colors in front of the inactive in off tones.

Another interesting aspect is that Google has placed special emphasis on intergenerational accessibility. New interfaces include High contrast and optimized typography that allows people over 45 years of age navigate with the same ease as younger users, something we already saw partially implemented in Android Auto 13.4 at the end of last year.

And when can we enjoy all these novelties? The deployment will be gradual, starting with Google’s own applications after the I/O. Xiaomi and other manufacturers will receive Android 16 with the new design at the end of 2025, although the Complete implementation could be extended until mid -2026.

For developers, Google will offer design kits for Figma and Alpha code after I/O, encouraging patterns such as the grouping of similar functions and the use of Sliding cards for complex interactions. It is no accident that this redesign coincides with Google’s commitment to multiplatform experiences, including Android XR for extended reality.

Next May 13, during the event The Android Showwe will know more official details about this evolution that Google defines as “The most investigated design in its history“, after conducting 46 studies with 18,000 participants. A change that seeks to return the emotion to Android and are far