Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google Photos is ditching the classic bottom navigation bar in favor of a floating toolbar.
- The new pill-shaped toolbar floats above your images and combines Photos, Collections, and Create in one compact bar.
- The update is live on iOS (version 7.63) for now, with no confirmed timeline for Android.
Google is updating one of its most popular apps with a new user interface that’s both a departure and a refinement. After years of using the standard bottom navigation bar, Google Photos is switching to a floating toolbar design starting on iOS, and the change already looks more content-friendly.
For context, most of Google’s Android apps have already migrated to a shorter bottom bar or similar navigation system as part of the broader Material 3 Expressive design language rollout. But Photos had been the holdout — until now.