Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
Some new Material 3 Expressive animations in the Google Play Store are rolling out now.
The shape of the download progress ring around the app icons is changing, as is the loading icon when switching pages.
This looks to be a staged rollout by Google, so you might not spot it on your device for a while.
Google has spent the past year slowly threading Material 3 Expressive through Android and its first-party apps. Some of the changes are nothing short of an overhaul, whereas others are relatively minor shifts in colors or icons. The Google Play Store appears to be the latest app to get a subtle facelift, with new expressive download and loading animations now starting to show up for some users.
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Telegram user FeDeveloper95 is one such recipient of the changes, and they shared the screenshots below with us showing them live in the Play Store. Instead of the old circular progress indicators, app downloads now get crinkled rings wrapped around their icons. There’s also a new expressive loading indicator that pops up when you jump into the Downloads page, which feels much more in line with Google’s newer, bouncier design language.
These changes aren’t completely unexpected. Back in October, our APK teardown revealed the expressive loading indicator in action, but it was just in testing at the time. It looks like it finally made the jump from teardown fodder to gradual rollout, and you can see it in action in the video below.
We haven’t spotted the changes rolling out on our devices yet, but this Telegram user certainly isn’t alone. User Ishan Wankhade on Threads also posted a screenshot showing the same wiggly progress rings in action while multiple apps update at once. It’s not a huge visual overhaul, but it’s enough to add a bit of extra flair to the app.
If you’re refreshing the Play Store and still not seeing any of this, don’t worry. All signs point to a staged rollout, which could take weeks or even months if typical Google behavior is anything to go by.
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