In addition to introducing A A few news featuresGoogle releases new icons for SMS/RCS app, Phone and Contacts.
Update 10/22: Google Contacts version 3.79.25.482243121 introduces a new app icon. It is very straightforward with no shadow and white background. The theme icon is a bit more interesting and simplifies the ‘body’ design. It feels more unique than the previous version.
This update is not widely released yet Via Play StoreThe Google Phone app is next and you can take advantage of its beta program.
Update 10/21: Google is already releasing the new Messages icon with version messages.android_20221018_01_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic. It’s live on Wear OS and you can sign up for it The beta is here.
As expected, the blue icon is placed on a light background and is not very noticeable. Google Chat doesn’t even have an animated splash screen, and the animation seen in Google’s promotional video doesn’t appear today.
Meanwhile, the theme icon looks great and somewhat recognizable even with its simplified logo.
Original 10/20: These three icons continue to share the same style to convey that they are part of the same application family responsible for communication. The main motif here is the overlapping of message bubbles to represent how texting (and calling) involves at least two participants. It is similar to the green Google Chat logo.
A dark blue is used where that overlap occurs, while two other shades of lighter blues are in use. There’s a false sense of depth derived from shadows — a rarity in modern Google iconography — as a result.
In the Google Messages icon (and to ensure continuity and user familiarity), blue also represents the default bubble color of RCS (Rich Communication Services). It’s a recognizable icon, but the overlapping area, especially the bottom-left and top-right, can look somewhat imprecise and confusing.
Google Phone, Messages and Contacts
Meanwhile, the new Google Phone app icon looks pretty good, while the contacts are straightforward, although the blue shadows look more like weapons instead of being indirectly aimed (people side by side).
Compared to the current icon set, these icons would look less if they were placed on a light background instead of dark blue. Overall, they are less realistic and more stylized.
Google says these icons are compatible with other first-party apps and “each one is designed to fit. Meaning you themes.” is definitely flat and lacks shadows as seen in Workplace icons. However, another comparison is YouTube’s family of icons and its minimal color palette.
The new Google Telephone, newsAnd contacts Icons are rolling out over the next few weeks.
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