Google's Terminal app is next in line for an icon makeover

Google has been busy giving its app icons a fresh coat of paint lately, and it looks like even some of Android’s more niche tools aren’t being left behind. The latest Android Canary 2608 release comes with a redesigned icon for the Terminal app, giving the developer-focused tool a much more modern look.

The current Terminal icon is fairly old-school, featuring the familiar “>” and “-” command-line symbols in neon green against a dark green background. Here’s a side-by-side look at the Terminal app’s current icon (left) and its newer design (right).

The new app icon has a much more modern, boxy design, while keeping the familiar “>” and “-” symbols front and center. Interestingly, its overall shape reminds us quite a bit of the Google Sheets icon, although Terminal sticks with a much darker green color scheme that helps it retain its own identity.

That similarity actually helps the new icon feel more like it belongs to Google’s current app family. Put Terminal alongside apps like Sheets in your app drawer, and the visual connection is much easier to spot. It’s still unmistakably Terminal, just without looking like a developer utility that wandered in from an older version of Android.

Check out these screenshots for a better look at the new icon:

Of course, an icon redesign won’t change what Terminal can actually do, so don’t expect a dramatically different app experience as a result. Still, visual consistency goes a long way as Google gradually modernizes the look of Android and its apps. Terminal might be one of the nerdier tools on your phone, but there’s no reason it can’t dress the part, too.

We don’t yet know when Google plans to roll out the redesigned Terminal icon more widely. Nevertheless, if this new look sticks around beyond the Canary release, Terminal could soon feel a lot more at home alongside Google’s colorful collection of app icons.