Google Drive gets its Material 3 Expressive redesign back

Last year Google started the rollout of the Material 3 Expressive redesign to Google Drive, bringing it in line, aesthetically, with other products and services. Then, for reasons best known to Google, the company then seemed to change its mind and pulled back some of the new look.

Now there has been another change of heart. Google Drive users are now seeing the reappearance of a visual tweak that had been yanked.

The change is a subtle one, but as the Material 3 Expressive redesign is a design language, any component that is missing or changed is significant. The change can be seen on the Android version of the Google Drive app, and it sees Google implementing a somewhat more spacious layout.

There is no denying that the change is a small one, but details matter. It was 9to5 Google that first spotted the update and has shared a nice side-by-side comparison of the before and after.

The site explains:

The list of files is once again placed in a container that does not extend all the way to the edge of the screen. There is now increased padding to the left and right.

This container features rounded corners at the top but is squared at the bottom. As a result of this change, the bottom and search app bars are part of the same background layer. In the Files view, the top tabs for My Drive and Computers get a narrower indicator.

Whether or not you notice much of a difference will depend on how observant you are, how large your screen is, and various other factors. The change is being made server side, so there is nothing you need to do – although it is always a good idea to make sure that you have the latest version of any apps installed, Google Drive included.