Google has been at its gradient redesign schtick for a while now to varying levels of success, but its latest redesign has just landed on the Pixel Watch for the Media Controls app, and I love it.
Quietly rolled out, the Media Controls app on Pixel Watch has picked up a redesign to its app icon, adopting the same gradient look we’ve seen across several other Pixel Watch apps.
The difference here is that Google’s styling expands beyond a simple coat of paint. The new look extends to the edge of the icon with play/pause in the center and a ring indicating playback around the border, just like the actual app itself – the app, to be clear, hasn’t been redesigned.
I’ve personally been a bit mixed on these redesigns, but this one really nails it in my book. I wish Google would do this sort of thing more often. The white borders are nice in some cases, but I very much miss the whimsy of the icons that took up the full size available to them – that mid-2010’s icon was the absolute peak in my opinion.
Pixel Watch has been quietly rolling out more of these icon redesigns in recent months, with the other most recent additions including Alarm, Stopwatch, and Timer from around August/September.
More on Pixel Watch:
- Pixel Watch and Fitbit Air will be able to control Android XR glasses with gestures
- <a href="https://myappsplus.com/nyt-strands-hints-and-answers-for-saturday-<a href="https://myappsplus.com/quordle-hints-and-answers-for-saturday-november-14-game-1755/” title=”Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, November 14 (game #1755)”>november-14-game-986/” title=”NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, November 14 (game #986)”>November Pixel Watch Drop: Create My Widget, Phone-to-Watch Unlock
- I bought the knock-off Pixel Watch and Fitbit Air bands, and it’s crazy how good they are [Gallery]
Best Pixel Watch Accessories:
- Nomad Active Band Pro
- Wasserstein On-The-Go USB-C Pixel Watch charger
- Pixel Watch Stephen Curry band knock-off
Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram
You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel
