Google has officially introduced Material 3 Expressive, a fresh and immersive design upgrade for Android 16 and Wear OS 6. Announced ahead of I/O 2025 at The Android Show: I/O Edition, this design overhaul aims to offer a more fluid, dynamic, and personalised experience across Android devices and smartwatches. From smoother animations to consistent theming and improved glanceability, Material 3 Expressive is one of the platform’s most impactful visual revamps in recent years.

Key Highlights

Material 3 Expressive debuts with fluid animations and real-time feedback.

Enhanced system-wide visual consistency and personalization.

Wear OS 6 gets optimised UI, improved battery life, and glanceable interactions.

Pixel devices will receive the update first, with broader availability to follow.

What’s New in Material 3 Expressive

Smoother, Livelier Animations

Google’s goal with Material 3 Expressive is to make every interaction feel dynamic yet purposeful. The update introduces spring-like, playful animations across the UI. For example, when a user swipes away a notification, nearby notifications subtly react in response. This fluidity is paired with satisfying haptic feedback, making every action feel more intuitive and tactile.

Blurred Backgrounds for Better Focus

To reduce distractions and improve focus, the notification shade now features a subtle blur effect. This helps users concentrate on the foreground content while still maintaining context in the background—a thoughtful nod to both design and functionality.

Live Updates: Real-Time Information at a Glance

A standout new feature is Live Updates, allowing real-time progress tracking directly on the lock screen or notification shade. Whether it’s monitoring a food delivery from Uber Eats or a rideshare update, users can stay informed without digging into the app.

More Action Shortcuts

Material 3 Expressive also adds the ability to pin more commonly used actions—like the flashlight or Do Not Disturb mode—to a compact and accessible view, enhancing usability.

Consistent Visual Styling in Core Apps

Apps like Google Photos and Gmail now adapt more closely to user-chosen themes, aligning their colors and visual styles with system-wide preferences. This brings a more cohesive aesthetic experience across Android.

Material 3 Expressive Extends to Wear OS 6

Curved Animations for Circular Displays

Material 3 Expressive has been reimagined for smartwatches running Wear OS 6. UI elements now respond with curvature-aware animations tailored to the round displays of most smartwatches. From swiping through menus to entering PINs, the motion feels natural and elegant.

Unified Watch Face Themes

For the first time, the selected watch face theme extends system-wide, ensuring that settings, notifications, and apps all reflect a uniform look. This small but significant update improves the sense of cohesion across the watch’s UI.

Glanceable Buttons and Tiles

Wear OS 6 introduces redesigned glanceable buttons that stretch responsively to fit the screen and are easier to tap. Refreshed tiles offer faster access to essential functions such as messaging, fitness tracking, and media control.

Improved Battery Efficiency

Thanks to optimised system processes, Wear OS 6 promises up to 10% better battery life—an essential enhancement for wearable users looking for longevity without compromise.

Availability

Material 3 Expressive will roll out later this year with Android 16 and Wear OS 6, starting with Pixel devices. Google is collaborating with OEM partners to bring the design refresh to a wider range of smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches powered by the upcoming OS versions.

Conclusion

With Material 3 Expressive, Google is setting a new standard for personalised, responsive, and visually unified experiences across its ecosystem. From enhanced animations and real-time updates on phones to intuitive, curved-friendly layouts on wearables, this update is more than just a cosmetic change—it’s a step toward a more immersive and user-friendly Android future. As Android 16 and Wear OS 6 roll out later this year, users can expect not just better functionality but a more beautiful and coherent experience.