Google has updated the Phone app’s interface with Material 3 Expressive
By ForGeeks Google has begun a major update to its branded Phone app, introducing Material 3 Expressive design elements. It’s the first major visual update in years, ahead of the release of Android 16.
The app gets a redesigned incoming call screen with two response options, Single Touch and Horizontal Swipe. The former offers large “Reply” and “Reject” buttons, while the latter is a capsule-shaped slider with a phone icon in the center.
New call screen design
Before the update, you had to swipe up to answer a call and down to reject it. The new interface offers a more visual and convenient way to manage incoming calls. By selecting a horizontal swipe, users can drag the phone icon to the right to answer and to the left to reject a call.
The call screen has been visually redesigned as well. Controls are larger and more prominent, caller names are more readable, and caller photos are easier to recognize. The four-tab bottom panel is retained, but with a darker background.
Updated Recents and Favorites tabs
The Recent section now has a background with rounded corners and a call list card layout. Each entry is now in a separate cell. Clicking on it opens the standard actions for the contact.
Analogous card style appears in the Favorites section, as well as in the dialer interface. The number pad itself remains the same, but the area below it is now rounded to emphasize the visual integrity of the update.
A similar card style has been added to the Favorites section and the dialing interface.
Gradual rollout of the update
The updated interface is being rolled out in stages and is available in the beta version of the Google Phone app, numbered 180.0.771769344. This is a server-side activation, so the changes appear gradually – even with the correct version installed.
The move to Material 3 Expressive on Google Phone is a continuation of a redesign that has already affected services like Gmail, Google Keep, and the main Google app. In this way, the company is building a unified visual style ahead of Android 16’s release.
Material Google updates Phone app interface with Material 3 Expressive was first published on ITZine.ru.
