The launch of Android 16 arrived earlier than anticipated, but the eagerly awaited Material 3 Expressive design language will not be available until the Android 16 QPR1 update later this year. In the interim, several Google applications, including Google Messages, have begun integrating elements of Material 3 Expressive into their interfaces. Notably, the messaging app is set to undergo yet another modification that adheres to this updated design philosophy. An APK teardown of the latest Google Messages beta (version 20250701_01_RC00) by Android Authority has uncovered plans for a refreshed design of the contact profile or chat info page.
Users can access this page by tapping on the contact’s name in a one-on-one conversation or by selecting the contact’s profile image from the chat list and then clicking the “i” icon. The redesign emphasizes enlarging four primary buttons on the contact profile page: Call, Video, Contact Info, and Search. The upcoming version will feature these buttons in a larger, oval shape, significantly different from the current ones. These updates are consistent with the Material 3 Expressive enhancements observed across various Google apps thus far.
Moreover, the new buttons will possess added flair. A video shared by Android Authority demonstrates how these buttons will expand momentarily upon user interaction, enhancing the user experience. Notably, this feature was manually activated, indicating that sideloading the Google Messages beta APK alone won’t allow users to access it. Although specific details regarding a wider rollout of this redesigned contact page are currently unavailable, it’s reasonable to expect that these changes will soon be reflected in the stable version of Google Messages, especially as Google places considerable emphasis on Material 3 Expressive in the upcoming months.
Similar to Google Messages, other apps, such as Google Wallet and Gmail, are also preparing updates to align with the new design language.
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