Android smartphone owners will soon notice significant changes to the familiar Google voice search. The company is redesigning the widget and app interface, combining several key features into a single convenient control panel. For now, these innovations are only available to beta testers.
New horizontal toolbar
The main change concerns the layout of the tools. Google has adopted the logic previously used in Google Lens: available functions are now grouped and moved to a separate menu. A horizontal panel will appear in the Google app, allowing you to instantly switch between modes:
- Standard voice search;
- AI Mode;
- Search Live feature;
- Song Search.
Previously, launching music search required using a separate shortcut, while the standard microphone was only responsible for transcribing queries for web search. Now, all these capabilities are integrated into a single interface.
Enhanced user experience
Developers have also changed the visual design. The image that appears on the screen while waiting for voice input will be updated. After the user speaks a query in AI Mode, new control elements will appear on the screen:
- An arrow button to continue processing the query;
- A stop button that moves the transcribed text to the search field for editing.
The Search Live feature will receive a similar interactive conversational experience. Unlike other modes, Song Search will remain unchanged, retaining its current logic.
Intelligent memory
The app will become "smarter" regarding user habits. The system will remember which search mode was activated last and automatically launch it upon the next microphone press. This eliminates the need to manually select the desired tool every time.
When to expect the update?
Currently, all described changes are implemented exclusively in the beta version of the Google app. The company has not yet announced an official release date for the general public. However, given the scale of the changes, a gradual rollout of these innovations can be expected in the coming months.
