Google Leaks First Look at Bold Android Redesign Ahead of Official Reveal

Google is due to unveil its new “Material 3 Expressive” design system at I/O 2025 this month, but someone at the company accidentally published a blog post about it this week. It was promptly deleted but the Wayback Machine already archived it and the quick-thinking folks at 9to5Google saved the images as well.

The blog post itself was all about the research that went into the new design system for Android 16. Google spent three years carrying out various studies and experiments with over 18,000 participants, including:

• Eye tracking to see where people focus their attention
• Surveys and focus groups to gather opinions and impressions
• Experiments to discover preferences
• Usability tests to see how quickly people could learn to use the interface

As the name suggests, Google is aiming for an “expressive” design with this new system—focused on creating a user interface that evokes emotion and helps users “feel something” during interaction. Based on Google’s research, this approach resonates strongly with younger audiences while still remaining accessible and easy to navigate for older users.

The images shared in the blog post highlight the contrast between expressive and non-expressive design styles.