Google has started to roll out an updated UI for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides that’s meant to fit in with its Material Design 3 language. The apps still work the same way they used to, but Google writes in an announcement post that they should now be a bit more “simplified,” with less clutter and a few improvements and additions.
According to reviewers from The Verge, if you’re familiar with Gmail’s refreshed look, the new designs take a lot of cues from that, which makes sense given that Google says it’s trying to “streamline core collaboration journeys across our products.” Google also appears to be adding a few more darker hues to things like the toolbar and comments to make them stand out from the white page of a document. The “Share” button is also more rounded, a change from the rounded-corner rectangle Google currently uses for the button.
Additionally, Google is also adding support for third-party smart chips, a feature it announced in October. This could allow you to integrate third-party apps directly into your documents, similar to Notion and Coda. These apps include Atlassian, Asana, Figma, Miro, Tableau, and ZenDesk. It rolled out some new smart chips of its own, too, including stopwatch, emoji voting, and calendar invite chips for Docs, as well as a handy date shortcut chip in Sheets.
Google says that it’ll be rolling out over the next 15 days for users on rapid release domains and that everyone should have it by March 25th. The company says it’ll be coming to all Workspace and personal users as well as people who are still on its legacy G Suite Basic and Business plans.
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