Google's Material Design 3 Expressive to transform Android UI: What is new

Google is set to unveil a new version of its Android design system, called Material Design 3 Expressive, at its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2025, on May 20. Although the company has officially confirmed the upcoming design language, a detailed blog post briefly went live before being taken down. According to a report by TechCrunch, the blog indicated that Google’s updated design direction will emphasise user interfaces that “connect with people on an emotional level.”

 

Google’s Material Design: What is it

 

First introduced in 2014, Material Design is Google’s open-source design system that provides comprehensive guidelines for building user interfaces across Android apps—including visual, motion, and interaction design. It was updated in 2021 with Material You (also known as Material 3), which brought a highly adaptive UI. For example, changing your Android wallpaper would dynamically update the system's colour palette to match, creating a personalised look and feel.

 

Material Design 3 Expressive: What to expect

 

According to the report, the now-removed blog post focused less on technical implementation and more on the research and philosophy behind the update. It described Material 3 Expressive as being defined by a “bold use of shape and colour” designed to create “delightful user experiences.” 

  Google's internal research suggested that users prefer more expressive and visually dynamic designs, which also improve usability. These designs draw attention to critical UI elements and actions, resulting in “significant gains in performance,” especially for older users. Google claims this approach can make apps easier to navigate for people of all ages.

 

As reported by 9To5Google, the blog post mentioned that Material 3 Expressive principles are based on research, including:

• Eye tracking – Understanding where users naturally focus their attention.
• Surveys and focus groups – Measuring emotional responses to visual design.
• Experiments – Collecting data on preferences and sentiment.
• Usability testing – Assessing how quickly users can learn and use an interface.

Google concluded that its “expressive designs are easier to use,” and helped users “quickly spot the key action on each screen and navigate more quickly.”

 

Material Design 3 Expressive: Availability

 

It was recently reported that Google is planning a major overhaul of the Android user interface at some point in the Android 16 update cycle. This will likely include changes to app icons, new widgets, redesigned status bar icons, reworked quick settings menu, and more. These changes may include elements based on Material Design 3 Expressive. 

  With Google I/O just around the corner, we can expect a preview of these changes, and possibly updates to Google’s own apps in the coming months to reflect the new design language.