Google’s Material 3 Expressive design concept leaked, showcasing a colorful system update.
It’s based on research with 18,000 participants favoring more expressive design, Google’s post said.
Despite Google’s findings, 88% of US teens in a 2025 survey said they owned an iPhone.
People are craving more expression in their tech, Google said in a leaked blog post that included a subtle dig against the aesthetic of Apple’s iPhone software design.
In a since deleted post, Google outlined an update to its operating system called Material 3 Expressive. The tech giant described the revamped look as the “most-researched update to Google’s design system, ever.”
Business Insider viewed the blog post — which the blog 9to5Google reported on Monday — using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Google wrote that it conducted research studies with more than 18,000 participants around the world to develop the “beautiful and highly usable” Material 3 Expressive for Android.
The leaked post made it clear that the layout of purples, pinks, and blues is coming for the design choices of its competitors.
“When it comes to design, people really do prefer to feel something,” the post said.
Google said 46 separate studies found that “well-applied expressive design is strongly preferred by people of all ages over non-expressive design that followed the iOS Human Interface Guidelines.”
Gen Z respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 showed a particularly strong preference for a more expressive style, it said. The iOS Human Interface Guidelines are the guidance and best practices for designing tech for Apple platforms. The iPhone maker is known for its minimalist style.
The Material 3 concept appears to include funky fonts and abstract themes that change up the look of apps like Gmail and a clock app.
Neither Google nor Apple responded to requests for comment.
Despite Google’s research suggesting that young people around the globe aren’t as hyped about iOS, Piper Sandler’s 2025 survey of US-based teens found that Apple still had a firm grip on Gen Z. Out of 6,455 teens surveyed, 88% said they owned an iPhone.
The leaked images in the blog post indicate Google is going for a functional yet playful and youthful interface. The goal? “To move beyond ‘clean’ and ‘boring’ designs” and connect with people on an emotional level, the post said.
Google I/O, its annual developer conference, is less than two weeks away. The company could officially announce Material 3 Expressive ahead of or during the keynote.
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