Although critics complain that Google uses excessive AI to make photos look overprocessed, the Mountain View tech giant makes some of the best camera phones. So, even if you don’t like the Pixel Camera app, you can take some great photos using some of the best Pixel Camera alternatives. However, for those who depend on the Pixel Camera app, be ready to get a dose of Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive redesign.
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Google Phone app is getting a visual makeover with Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive
Google Phone app in a bold new look
Google is currently in the process of redesigning its Android apps with the Material 3 Expressive, and some of its apps, such as Gmail, have already started getting it. Up next could be the Pixel Camera app, as Android Authority‘s APK teardown reveals that the Pixel phone maker has already started working on it.
Here is what the Pixel Camera redesign looks like
We have something more fun than the boring code strings to conclude that Material 3 Expressive is coming to the Pixel Camera app. Folks over at Android Police have managed to enable Android 16’s design language in the Pixel Camera version 9.9.106.767010485.16, giving us a closer look at what the new UI looks like.
Image source: Android Authority
The redesign was spotted on the Settings page of the Pixel Camera app. The redesigned Settings page doesn’t have any new control options; instead, it now appears in a more colorful avatar, with brown toggle switches. Also, the new toggle switches now show a tick when enabled and an “x” when disabled. This is a more subtle way of telling users whether a feature is turned on or off.
Moreover, the new Settings page now has a brown-toned background, floating on which are all the control options in white boxes with rounded corners. We can also spot the tiny spacing between those boxes, which makes control options easier to scan.
These are the noteworthy changes that we are currently seeing. However, that doesn’t mean Google’s redesign effort will only be limited to the Settings page of the Pixel Camera app. Since this is still a work in progress, we might see it redesigning the camera viewfinder. As for when the redesigned Pixel Camera app will be available, we don’t have a specific date, but you may not have to wait till later this year, which is when Google will introduce Material 3 Expressive to Android 16 via a Pixel Feature Drop.
