Google Messages rolling out Material 3 Expressive redesign in bits and pieces

Google Messages was one of the first apps to beta test Material 3 Expressive, and the redesign is now making its way to the stable channel.

As of today, stable users are seeing Material 3 Expressive on the:

• Search page: The 2×4 grid for Unread, Known, Unknown, Starred, Images, Videos, Places, and Links is larger than before.
• Start chat: Each contact is placed in a container. When making a group conversation, selecting a person morphs the rounded rectangle into a pill. 
• Settings: Each line is placed in a container, while modern M3 on/off toggles are finally in use.
• Details page: Similar to Google Contacts, the Call, Video, Contact info, and Search buttons are placed in pills.

As part of this, those four aspects are now widely available in the beta channel after first surfacing in early June.

The main changes we’re waiting for are to the homepage and conversation screen. Both make use of containers, while the ‘plus’ menu gets a big update.

We’re seeing the first wave of Material 3 Expressive with stable version 20250803_01_RC01 of Google Messages. 

More on Google Messages:

• Google Messages rolls out Sensitive Content Warnings on Android
• Google Messages has a new text/chat Details page
• Google Messages on Wear OS getting Material 3 Expressive redesign