Google app redesigning voice and song search on Android

The Google app’s legacy voice search experience is finally being modernized with a redesign inspired by Search Live.

Voice search in the Google app on Android lets you dictate a query, with the answer spoken aloud and appearing on the Search results page. For the most part, this interface has remained the same for many years with a four dot waveform in the Google colors.

Google is finally redesigning the interface you get after tapping the microphone at the top of the Google app, Search results, or in the Pixel Launcher bar. It’s very much inspired by the Search Live UI, though there are some tweaks.

Old vs. new

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The ‘G’ logo is centered and there’s a “What’s on your mind?” prompt that then makes way for the transcript. The compact waveform has been replaced by an arc that vibrates as you talk. There’s also the “Search a song” shortcut at the very bottom, with the globe animation replaced by a very prominent “Play Sing Hum.”

Google has also refreshed the ping used to indicate that the microphone is active and when it has timed out. It matches the sound used for AI Mode.

This update speaks to how straightforward voice search must still be very popular with users. More broadly, AI Mode and Search Live, as well as the latest Google Lens redesign, has raised the UI quality of Search by a great deal. 

Google’s voice search redesign is not yet widely rolled out on Android.

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