Overview
As 2025 unfolds, both Apple and Google have rolled out bold visual overhauls to their operating systems. Android greets users with the refined, expressive pupils of Material 3.5 Expressive, a design language that emphasizes dynamic motion, brighter color systems, and more tactile feedback. While the Android ecosystem receives the wider treatment, the real talking point is how Google’s own apps—Gmail, Maps, Photos, Drive, Messages, and more—interpret and implement Material 3.5 Expressive within the familiar Google Apps umbrella.
What changes are visible in Google apps
Across Google’s suite, the updates focus on three pillars: expressive surfaces, cohesive motion, and improved accessibility. Icons gain subtle depth, typography shifts toward higher readability, and surfaces respond more vividly to user interactions—from buttons that gently lift on hover to panels that fluidly expand and collapse. The result is an overall feel that’s more playful without sacrificing clarity.
Gmail and Messages
Communications apps benefit from clearer hierarchy and micro-interactions. In Gmail, subject lines tighten with bolder type, while action chips animate with a touch of lift. Email threads gain a tactile density that helps users distinguish important messages at a glance. Messages sees more fluid chat bubbles, animated status indicators, and smoother transitions between chat and calls, aligning with the expressive language while keeping performance steady on mid-range devices.
Maps and Photos
Maps enhances its visual language with more responsive cards and card transitions, making search results feel tangible. Photographs in Photos get a subtle depth cue and finer control surfaces for quick edits, with color themes adapting to the dominant hues in your media. The pairing of vibrant accents and soft shadows improves navigational clarity in busy screens like the driving or waypoint panels.
Drive and Productivity Apps
Drive and other productivity tools show refined typography and more generous touch targets. File cards use rounded corners with gentle elevation changes, which helps users scan folders and files more intuitively. These changes are designed to reduce cognitive load by mirroring real-world affordances while staying consistent with the broader Material 3.5 Expressive system.
Design language: core elements of 3.5 Expressive
Material 3.5 Expressive emphasizes motion that communicates meaning, rather than merely decorative animation. Elevation shifts are tied to tasks, and color theming is more flexible, enabling apps to maintain a cohesive look even when users switch wallpapers or theme presets. Accessibility considerations are front and center—contrast is improved where it matters, and motion respects user preferences through adjustable or reduced animation settings.
Why this matters for users
For everyday users, the Google app experience becomes faster to scan and easier to navigate. High-contrast surfaces make primary actions more discoverable, and the new motion grammar helps anticipate what happens next—such as opening a panel or returning to a previous view. This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about clarity, reducing friction in tasks like composing an email, plotting a route, or organizing photos.
Potential considerations
With any design overhaul of this scale, some users may notice a brief adjustment period. Power users who customize fonts or turn off certain animations might need time to recalibrate their settings. Additionally, device performance can influence how smoothly transitions render on older hardware, though Google’s optimization push aims to keep experiences snappy across a broad range of devices.
Final take
Material 3.5 Expressive marks a meaningful evolution for Android’s visible language and the Google Apps ecosystem. It preserves the familiarity of Google’s apps while injecting a more expressive, motion-aware personality. For users who value typography, color harmony, and accessible interfaces, these updates offer a refined but recognizable experience—one that should feel faster, clearer, and more delightful in day-to-day interactions.
