What’s Materials You on Android? Google's newest design language defined
3 min read
Materials You was launched with the discharge of Android 12 as a reboot of Materials Design. Right here is all the pieces it is advisable to know.
Android gadgets have seen a large change in UI design over the previous couple of years and a variety of that may be linked to the launch of Materials You. Developed by Google, Materials You goals to make your handset really feel extra private and streamline the design of your apps and UI to suit a theme that works for you.
Preserve studying to seek out out all the pieces it is advisable to learn about Materials You and in case your handset helps the function.
What’s Materials You?
Materials You took over from Materials Design, which was initially launched in 2014. It’s the newest design language and framework developed by Google and launched alongside Android 12.
Materials You goals to make Android merchandise extra private and customisable, and it options throughout virtually all of Google’s merchandise, together with the most recent Pixel 7 Professional and the Pixel Watch.
Since one of many greatest targets for Materials You is personalisation, it improved on its predecessors by giving app builders extra consistency. The UI can react to display screen adjustments and context adjustments with out compromising the performance of key apps, thus making your whole purposes really feel streamlined and unified. This additionally included a variety of design adjustments, with new colors and shapes showing in Android UI over time.
One of the notable options of Materials You is the matching color palettes; change your wallpaper on a Pixel handset and all the supported apps will match that color, making your machine really feel much more personalised and aesthetically pleasing.

That is achieved by means of a dynamic theming system that may decide up particular colors and hues out of your wallpaper after which apply it to your whole UI. That is extra related for those who’ve picked a wallpaper from your personal picture library, as Materials You possibly can hone in on dominant colourways inside the image and have it in widgets, buttons and search bars.
This function will not be restricted to the apps on your own home display screen. Supported apps will tackle these colourways throughout use, making a streamlined expertise. This doesn’t apply to all third-party apps, however it’s supported in all the bottom Android apps such because the Clock and Calendar app.
Google put a big concentrate on accessibility, with the choice of altering the distinction, measurement and line width of apps to make sure that they’re seen and straightforward to navigate for each consumer.
Widgets had been additionally made bigger and bolder with rounded corners which have assist for machine theming in addition to darkish mode. When utilizing a Pixel, the widgets will even change color relying on the place they’re positioned on the house display screen.
Furthermore, the fast settings web page was overhauled. The person settings match the color theme of the machine and have a bubble-like look, in an identical vein to the rounded edges on the redesigned widgets.
Is Materials You supported on all Android handsets?
All latest Pixel handsets working on Android 12 or later have assist for Materials You. Different Android producers, like Samsung and Oppo, opted to incorporate some options of Materials You on handsets that run Android 12 or later, notably the color extraction and theming components.
Google additionally didn’t mandate that different Android handsets use Materials You, so every producer has been free to mimic the software program as a lot or as little as they select. Nonetheless, manufacturers like Oppo did port extra Materials You options in its Android 13 replace, so it’s doable that extra corporations will tackle Materials You over time.
If you’re after a handset that has all of Materials You’s options, you’ll need to put money into the Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 collection.