Google continues its Material Design update for nearly all of its apps, and it appears Play Store is up next. 9to5Google and Android Police have published photos showing the new interface, and it could only be a matter of time before it's rolled out to the public.
Play Store Material Redesign
The new Play Store closely resembles Google's other Material Design apps, with more rounded elements, a bottom bar, and a cleaner, streamlined look overall. The bottom bar offers quick navigation to Games, Movies & TV, and Books, with the Music shortcut taken away. There is, however, a new "Browse music" shortcut in the navigation drawer, which is mostly unchanged save for new Material Design icons.
Sections And Search
Sections still appear at the top part of the screen, but this time without icons. The search bar at the topmost part has undergone a revamp, now more rounded and reads, "Search for apps & games / Books / Movies & TV" instead of the Google Play logo, which should make it easier for users to identify which section they're on.
Finally, when going through list, there's now an arrow instead of a "More" button, which frees up a bit of space on the screen for a less cluttered look.
App Pages
Inside individual app pages, Google has put the focus on what truly matters. As such, the "Install" button now stretches nearly edge to edge, and the less relevant information, such as the category and tags, have been moved under the screenshots section. The progress bar, instead of a line, is now a circle that wraps around the app icon, filling up as it continues to download. A Permissions shortcut has also been added to the Installed app under My Apps and Games. This way, it's much easier to see what kind of things certain apps have access to.
This Material Design theme is still in development, notes 9to5Google, with some parts of the overall interface still unfinished. That means it might take a while before Google pushes this out. That said, this comes as an assurance that the Play Store will indeed go through a design overhaul. Drive, Gmail, Photos, plus a handful of Google's other apps have each received new looks recently, and it's nice to know Play Store will get the same treatment soon. Hit up Android Police for more screenshots.
No word on when this might come out, but make sure to check back with Tech Times as we learn more.
