Dynamic theming, at long last
Samsung kicked off February with style, launching the Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra. In the wake of that big Unpacked event, we are seeing several older Samsung phones in the news too, mostly for user experience-related improvements and updates like certification for Google’s ARCore dev kit. Another relatively minor update for all Samsung phones is now rolling out — a Material You themed icon for the Samsung Galaxy Store app.
Samsung’s transition to dynamic Material You icons for default apps began last year. The latest to join the ranks of updated apps is Galaxy Store. SamMobile reports people running version 6.6.09.62 of the app are seeing the new Galaxy Store icon. The outgoing icon features a white shopping bag icon against a bright pink background, while the new one dynamically changes the background color based on your active wallpaper’s palette.
You can open the Galaxy Store app and check for an update, which should bring you the latest app icon. Alternatively, users reported some luck changing the system date manually to February 7, 2023, to activate the new Galaxy Store icon. It didn’t work for us on the Galaxy S10 Lite though, and we aren’t seeing the Galaxy Store update on other devices either. This behavior is typical of a phased and gradual update rollout.
It has been over two years since Google introduced Material You as part of its Material Design language. It is a refreshed take on the original Material Design and focuses on personalization. Although Samsung is rather late to the party in updating the stock app icons for Galaxy devices, users can now enjoy a new and visually appealing addition to their home screen. The move brings Samsung users closer to Google’s idea of the ultimate Material You experience, currently limited to Pixel phones.
The company may be late to switch its apps to Material You dynamic icons, but we cannot fault Samsung for regular and rapid Android 13 updates throughout 2022. In the coming year, Samsung says it will do its users one better, and deliver Android 14 updates faster. We just hope consistency across icons is a part of Samsung’s plan.
