In the last couple of years, most visual changes to Google apps entailed tweaks and overhauls underMaterial Design principles, though the company’s design language itself continues evolving. Material Design 3 (MD3) is the latest standard, and a bunch of first-party Google apps are picking up changes. The Play Store has the most recent and impactful one, sporting a slightly shorter bottom bar than before.
The latest version of the Google Play Store (v35.1.1.1-21) includes a shorter bottom bar with pill-shaped indicators to highlight the selected tab.9to5Googlereports the change is rolling out as a server-side update, perhaps explaining why some of my colleagues don’t have it yet. It is a gradual rollout, and Google mostly doesn’t announce the pace for such changes.
The old Play Store bottom bar(left)next to the shorter Play Store bottom bar(right)
On the Play Store, the shorter bar helps fit more content on the screen, but that doesn’t outweigh the disadvantage of a shorter and smaller touch target. These targets becoming smaller are a bigger problem on thebest Android phones, most of which are tall, narrow, and challenging to use single-handedly.
Google can be inconsistent with minor design elements all it wants, but small decisions add up, sometimes creating an objectively worse user experience. The Play Store isn’t on that slippery slope yet, and we hope things stay that way. If you feel inclined to jump the queue and try the shorter bottom bar firsthand, you may have some luck installing the latest version of thePlay Store from APKMirror.
