What you need to know
- Google is bringing Material You design to third-party app developers.
- Dynamic colors will soon be available outside of Google's first-party apps.
- Google is also making it easy to design apps for larger displays.
With Android 12 available on Pixel smartphones, Google is hammering down on app support for its new Material You design language.
During the Android Developer Summit, Google announced Material Design 3 availability in Jetpack Compose, which will enable third-party app developers to implement Material You design into their apps.
This will bring support for dynamic color theming on Android 12 to more apps outside of Google's own apps. Google has already been updated plenty of its first-party apps with Material You support, but going forward, you may start seeing these changes appearing on your favorite apps as well.
To help developers, Google is introducing a Material You Theme Builder, which will make it easy to see how dynamic colors will look on their apps. There are also updated Material Components to match the new visual style and dynamic color guidelines to help apps adapt to the new design language while allowing brands to maintain their own expression.
While dynamic color is only available on Pixel smartphones, the new Material You design is still visible on the best Android phones. Samsung also has its own version of the dynamic color that it introduces with the second One UI 4 beta. However, it appears to only be available on its own apps, so mileage may vary as more devices are updated to Android 12.
Additionally, Google is also making it easier for developers to develop with larger screens in mind, thanks to Android 12L optimized for tablets, foldables, and more. Thanks to tools such as these, Google is set to make Android 12 its most cohesive OS version to date.
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