Google has been redesigning its apps one by one to match its new Material Theme. A few months back, Gmail and G Suite received a Material redesign. Now’s the time for the app that really needs it: the Play Store. Earlier, 9to5Google was able to get us some early pictures of the redesign, but now, it’s officially rolling out to users.
Update 6/5, 11:30 PM/CT: Google has started rolling back to the previous Play Store design.
Update 6/7, 9:30 PM/CT: v15.2.38 of the Play Store brings the Material Theme changes back.
To start off, there have been a few changes from the early pictures from 9to5Google, but the overall look and feel are similar. As before, the old cartoony vibe is gone. There’s now a bottom navigation bar for Games, Apps, Movies, and Books. When selected, they’re themed in their respective green, red, or blue accent color. The only tab on the top is for sections like For You, Top Charts, Categories, Editors’ Choice, Family, and Early Access.
The app info page has also been redesigned. Apps that aren’t installed feature a full-width install button with more rounded corners. App categories and other labels have been moved below the screenshots and app description. When you install an app, the download progress indicator is no longer a straight line but is circular and around the app icon.
The changes aren’t limited to the ones discussed above. Almost every page has been redesigned with small visual tweaks everywhere. Sadly, though, there’s no dark theme and we’ll still have to wait for it.
If you haven’t received the redesign, make sure you’re using the latest version: 15.1.24. If you don’t have the latest version, you can head over to APKMirror and download and install the update. After that, clear the app’s cache and you’ll get the new design.
Update 6/5, 11:30 PM/CT: Google appears to have rolled back the Play Store Material Theme redesign. Quite possibly, there were some bugs to fix or some tweaks to make before a wide launch. Any user who has tried downloading and installing version 15.1.24 of the Play Store from APKMirror will also lose the redesign since Google’s reverting them to version 15.2.23. We have no word on when the rollout will resume.
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Update 6/7, 9:30 PM/CT: With version 15.2.38 of the Play Store, Google has restored the Material Theme changes. You can install the new APK from APKMirror here. Some users are reporting that you may need to force close or force stop the app while others have said they had to reboot their device—YMMV.
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