Google Phone app is getting a visual makeover with Android 16’s Material 3 Expressive

Android 16 is a big release, not just in terms of new features but also because of the overhaul of the operating system’s Material Design language. Google is calling it Material 3 Expressive, and the company is already working on introducing the design language to some of its popular apps, including Calendar, Photos, Files, and Meet.

It’s safe to assume that the Mountain View tech giant will introduce Material 3 Expressive to all its Android apps to ensure design consistency in the operating system. While we’re all excited to see how Material 3 Expressive transforms each of the Google apps on Android, we just got a solid look at what the Phone by Google app will look like with Android 16’s design, courtesy of Android Authority‘s APK teardown of the app’s version 177.0.763181107-publicbeta-pixel2024.

What changes does Material 3 Expressive introduce to Google’s Phone app?

The design makeover was spotted on the incoming call screen and in-call menu. The incoming call screen shows the rounded call button, which still supports the vertical swipe gesture for answering or declining calls. This could be seen as a major hint that the company has no plans to replace the vertical swipe with a horizontal swipe and simple tap-to-answer/decline buttons.

Image source: Android Authority

The in-call screen also shows a new animation for the profile picture of the caller. However, the animation disappears when you receive the call, with the screen showing the name, phone number, profile picture, buttons, and menu, all of which appear bigger than the current ones.

The in-call screen is much more than changes in size. The shape of the in-call buttons also changed from round to oval. These buttons change shape to a rounded square upon pressing. We don’t see any new buttons, but there is a noteworthy change in how the “More” menu appears.

Currently, the “More” button reveals additional control options, including “Add call,” Video call,” and “Hold,” all of which appear in the same container as the other buttons. But with Material 3 Expressive, the additional controls now appear in a pop-up style menu, appearing just above those buttons. Another major change we can spot is the redesigned reject call button, which is now pill-shaped and not rounded.

Again, all these changes are currently going through the internal testing phase and are not available to general users. As much as we’d love to see them on the Phone app, there is no clarity about when they will be available. We expect the redesign to be available before Material 3 Expressive is rolled out to Pixel phones via a Feature drop later in the year.