This Material You-themed design overhaul for Nearby Share has been in the works since at least last month. We reported on this development in mid-November. There are several subtle changes here. Most notably, the “Looking for nearby devices” section in the Nearby Share sheet no longer gets a separate boundary. It blends into the sheet. Google has also replaced the left-to-right wave to denote “searching” with various Material You shapes. These shapes repeatedly show up behind your profile avatar. They expand and then fade out, with the process continuing until a device is found. Google has also increased the font size for all text on this sheet. The “Need help sharing?” link at the bottom moves to the center from the left side, while the Nearby Share icon accompanies the app name at the top. Last but not least, the content you are sharing is housed in a rounded rectangle above your profile avatar. This rectangular box appears if you’re sharing a link as well. It’s larger than before and provides a better preview of what you are sharing. Of course, this shape has Material You design elements. The whole purpose of this makeover is to unify Nearby Share with the rest of Google’s Android design language.
Google is rolling out Material You makeover for Nearby Share
This design update for Nearby Share will be available on all eligible Android devices via a server-side update. As said earlier, Google is rolling out the change with Google Play services v22.49 (via). Your phone should automatically install the latest version when available. You can also check for updates manually by clicking here. Along with this aesthetic update for Nearby Share, Google System Updates for December contain a host of other changes. Perhaps Nearby Share itself is picking up a functional improvement. Google says the service can now discover nearby contacts faster than before. There are also changes for Cast-related settings, Find My Device, and Google Wallet. The company regularly adds new items to the release notes for its monthly System Updates. We will keep you posted accordingly. Meanwhile, watch out for a redesigned Nearby Share sheet.
