Google opens the door for devs to start making their own Material You apps

Detailed documentation for the design language is now available

You've heard plenty already about Material You, the new super-personalized look Google's introducing with Android 12. It's quickly emerged as the main protagonist in the story of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro (and it's now available on older Pixels too), and plenty of Google apps have received their respective Material You redesigns. For the moment, though, that's largely where the story ends, as third-party apps haven't gone full Material You just yet — aside from a handful adding dynamic wallpaper theming. That should be about to change, as Google has officially released documentation developers can start using to implement Material You in their apps.

Google has flashy new Material Design 3 portal for developers looking into embracing this look for their apps. This is the first we're hearing the "Material Design 3" label in reference to Material You, but it makes sense, given how what we ended up knowing as Material Theming in Android 9 Pie was Material Design 2, and this is an evolution from there. Developers can check out a variety of resources, including the most important: implementing dynamic color for their apps.

In addition to that, the site offers devs pointers about design tokens, which are made to help ensure color and layout consistency across your app. Proper big-screen support for foldable phones and tablets is also a prominent improvement over previous Material Design iterations.

That last one can partly be attributed to Android 12L, which was announced today with better foldable phone support. Given how these guidelines don't shy away from large screens and now give proper guidance on them — and Android 12L also happens to be all-in on large screen support — it's not hard to connect the dots: Google's new design language is working to its full potential, and it's time to get developers on board.

If you're a developer interested in adding Material You support to your apps, be sure to check out the official Material Design 3 portal for more information.

About The Author