Google app experiments with this potentially controversial UI change (APK teardown)

Trying to divine Google’s plans from the latest changes to its software can be a bit like reading tea leaves; we can see the actual changes clearly enough, but what were the decisions that caused them to happen, and how might decisions like those impact future releases? Search has been the cornerstone of all things Google for decades now, even as the shape of what Search looks like changes and evolves with the emergence of AI-powered systems. With Google’s interest in Search seemingly going strong, why does the company seem to be downplaying it in its latest work on the Google app?

Just a few weeks back, we were checking out work towards some tweaks to the Google app that would give it some powerful new on-device search capabilities. But now we’re looking at the new Google app 15.32.37.28.arm64 beta, and everywhere we turn, it feels like Search is being moved slightly further away.

In this beta release, Google appears to be testing various new layouts for the app’s bottom bar that no longer feature a prominent Search button. Granted, it only takes a second and a swipe or two to access the Search bar up top, but it’s still a little odd to see the button targeted for removal in this manner.

During testing, we were able to access multiple alternative layouts for the app’s bottom bar, all lacking Search. UI changes like these may be largely driven by data-based analytics, modeled after how actual users interact with the app. And if Google’s tests observe people reaching up top when they want to search, maybe a move like this really does make sense.

That said, Google plays around with stuff like this not infrequently, and it will remain to be seen how the Google app’s bottom bar ultimately ends up after this latest round of fiddling.