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Google is finally fixing its most annoying design mistake
Follow Link copied to clipboard Published May 2, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT Jon Gilbert is a Features Writer for Android Police. I've covered Android since 2021, focusing on writing features and guides about Android apps and features that directly affect users. I've attended CES to uncover powerful hardware that isn't dominated by Google like the Mudita Kompakt. I trawl through Android news daily, hunting for stories that have real-world consequences. I hold a BA in History & Classics. Remember when minimalism was cool? When Windows 7 stripped the decoration from the overindulgent Windows XP, and Android started to look less like an amateur's attempt at creating an operating system? It was a refreshing period. That is, until we realized that, hey, perhaps we liked the mess. Perhaps solid blocks of color weren't the best way to convey information. Perhaps UI didn't have to be rigid and featureless. Perhaps we wanted life in our digital lives again. There's no way we'll be returning to the 90s/00s theme that made that era so distinctive. Minimalism has its boons, and companies are starting to realize that they may have gone too far. Google was perhaps the biggest culprit of this poor design choice, and it looks like it's making a change for the better. Related Identical app icons aren't helpful Six years of confusing apps are finally coming to an end In 2020, as part of G Suite's rebranding to Google Workspace, Google announced a dramatic redesign for five of its core apps: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet. While the Docs icon didn't last long, the others are still with us today, and I hate them. Rather than a series of apps with different colors and shapes, these 2020 icons followed the same rules. While the four-color outlines helped identify them as Google apps, they made it hard to tell which app was which at a glance. They betray the fundamental rules of icon design, as you have to take a closer look to know which app was which. These five weren't the only ones to look like this; Maps, Podcasts, Home, and Google One also suffer from the same problem. To me, this redesign was the pinnacle of useless minimalism. While I didn't like the gradual stripping of character from my apps and operating systems, I view most elements of my digital life as tools rather than artistic expressions. But when minimalism makes a system actively harder to use, I have a problem. Thus, Google's return to the classics is more than a welcome change; it's a necessary one. Go...
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Google rolls out Gemini redesign with unified tools layout
Google is rolling out a redesigned Gemini app with a cleaner, more visual, task‑oriented interface, featuring a unified tools layout for image generation, video, music, canvas, deep research and guided learning. The update simplifies navigation with a pill‑shaped prompt bar, revamped model picker and account switcher, and is currently in limited rollout, primarily on iOS.
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