Google has announced that its Workspace apps, including Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, will soon be getting a design makeover to align more closely with the company’s Material Design 3 design system. The changes are set to be rolled out in the coming weeks.
The refreshed design of these apps will take inspiration from Gmail’s refreshed look, featuring darker hues in elements like the toolbar and comments to make them stand out from the white background of the document. Google is also introducing a rounded “Share” button, replacing the rounded-corner rectangle button currently in use.
In addition to the design changes, Google is also adding support for third-party smart chips, a feature that was announced in October. This feature will allow users to integrate third-party apps directly into their documents, similar to Notion and Coda. Supported third-party apps include Atlassian, Asana, Figma, Miro, Tableau, and ZenDesk, which will be available in the coming weeks. Google is also introducing some new smart chips of its own, such as stopwatch, emoji voting, and calendar invite chips for Docs, as well as a date shortcut chip in Sheets.
With the new design and third-party integration, Google is providing users with a more streamlined experience that will make it easier to use the apps for a variety of purposes. The new design, in particular, offers a cleaner and more modern look that is more in line with the overall design trends of the web.
The new update is set to roll out in the coming weeks, so users should be on the lookout for changes to their Google Workspace apps. This is just one of the many updates that Google is constantly working on to improve its services and provide its users with the best possible experience.
