Google’s new gradient icon finally comes to Android after hitting iOS first

Change isn't always easy to adjust to, but it's inevitable. In Google's case, the change certainly did happen, just not all at once. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the fact that, for the first time in nearly a decade, Google updated its iconic "G" logo (as spotted by u/Eyal-M on Reddit).

Related

5 missing features Google needs to add to its Phone app

The Phone app is great, but these features could make it better

Posts 3

It wasn't a massive change, and you'd certainly still be able to tell it's Google without blinking twice, but it's different enough to notice. What's ironic, though, is that Google decided to roll out the new icon for iOS users first. Well, that's not the case anymore.

Google app’s new icon arrives with version 16.18 update

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Google app for Android is now getting the new "G" icon. It's available on Android with version 16.18, which is rolling out widely via the Play Store on the stable channel. 9to5 notes that the new logo appears on the app's splash screen, and nowhere else.

In case you haven't seen it yet, the new Google icon has a gradient style with colors that blur into each other. In the G logo, the red now bleeds into yellow, which bleeds into green, which, of course, bleeds into blue. This replaces the previous logo, which had solid colors of red, yellow, green, and blue. 9to5 mentions that the "G" itself appears smaller in Android's circular app icon now.

This isn’t the case on Apple devices, since their icons aren’t forced into a circular shape. In both the Android and iOS versions, the colors have also been tweaked ever so slightly, with the red, green, and yellow parts being a bit brighter than before, and a much more saturated blue.

When we first reported on the new Google icon, tipster Moshe informed us that the new icon was appearing on Android as well (when it became available on the iPhone and iPad app), in the latest beta version (16.18.37) of the Google app on Android. Frankly, I find it surprising that Google didn’t roll this out for Android users first because, well... Google.

That said, the new logo has only been updated on the iOS app, and now the Android app. Google’s yet to publicly talk about the new logo, or update it online — including on the web app.