In contrast to Android, only a few of Google’s iOS applications have adopted the latest iteration of Material Design. The Gmail app for iPhone and iPad has finally received a Material 3 update today.
The search bar on the homepage has been redesigned to a pill shape rather than a rounded rectangle. If you have the integrated Google Chat and/or Meet features activated, the bottom bar highlights the current tab with a pill instead of merely coloring or highlighting the icon.
Throughout the application, blue is the primary accent color, while red has been largely phased out. Various shades are used based on whether the light or dark theme is active.
With Android’s Material You, a “Dynamic Color” feature allows the theme to adapt to your phone’s wallpaper, providing a unified aesthetic across first-party applications and operating system elements. Unfortunately, iOS has yet to incorporate a similar feature even after all this time. It would be intriguing if Google created a platform-specific account picker (or synced it from Android for web applications).
Old vs. new
The “Compose” floating action button (FAB) has been transformed into a rounded rectangle featuring a bright blue color when dark mode is activated. The hamburger menu/navigation drawer appears to remain unchanged in this update.
Upon opening an email, users will see that the overflow icon in the top-right corner has changed from three vertical dots to horizontal dots arranged in a circle.
Recently, Google Chat for iOS also received a Material You update, though it had already utilized the floating bottom bar. Other Workspace applications such as Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet remain the same as before.
Other first-party applications that have adopted Material 3 include the Google Search app, Maps (specifically the bottom bar), Photos, Home, Translate, and Gemini.
The latest version (6.0.250119) of Gmail for iPhone and iPad, featuring this Material 3 redesign, was released today via the App Store.
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