Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Pixel Sounds app is getting a Material 3 Expressive redesign.
- The update rearranges sound collections into grids and introduces new shapes for selections.
- The redesign is currently officially limited to the Pixel 10, but you can update any older Pixel by sideloading the APK.
There’s no better way for Google to inspire developers to embrace Android’s new design philosophy than by adopting new elements itself. That’s precisely what it has been doing. Over the last few months, several Google apps have either been completely refreshed with, or found to be testing, the Expressive theme. Another app joins the list today, featuring fresher icons and a greater emphasis on colors and shapes.
Google has begun rolling out a new interface with elements in line with Material 3 Expressive UI for its ringtone picker. This redesign is available following the update of the Pixel Sounds app to version 3.3, which was released with the launch of the new Pixel 10 series.
The update switches up the interface with a new grid layout, as opposed to the list previously. The grid layout utilizes the space optimally, allowing more Sound collections, or pre-curated groups of ringtones and other alert sounds, to be visible without needing a scroll.
The homepage also gets a new jagged circle figure with a Play icon in the center, which you can tap to play the currently selected ringtone. Besides the new shape, the page also gets a fresher Sans font, which now clearly states the name of the selected sound.
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The sound collections themselves aren’t new, but they also get a new selection interface for ringtones available inside them. You can tap one of the sounds to preview it and then tap “Save” in the top-right corner to select it. Furthermore, each collection now also gets a one-liner description.
Each option in the list now appears inside a distinct box, which turns into a rectangle with rounded edges when a ringtone is selected. The earlier design used radio buttons to designate the selection instead.
The latest Pixel Sounds update appears to be limited to design changes and does not yet include custom vibration settings, which we previously spotted in an unreleased version. However, we spotted supporting strings in the app’s code, which suggests Google hasn’t thankfully dropped the idea.
While the new changes are officially limited to Pixel 10, you can sideload the APK (download here) on any older Pixel phone that runs Android 16.
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