The Android team has issued an update to the Material Design guidelines for developers. The update is primarily aimed at the new features that have come to the platform in Android Oreo. The guide adds a new Offline States section which covers how to customize apps to work for users when they do not have an Internet connection. This is a big emphasis for Google, particularly in developing markets.
For those who don’t know, the Material Design guidelines is aimed at developers to assure that their app has the look and feel of what Google expects in Android. Even if you are not a developer, the guide is great insight into the functions and looks of apps.
With this update to the Material Design guide, a new section on how to create Adaptive icons is now in the guide as well as a detailed discussion on the new notification channels in Oreo. This section outlines for developers a guide on how to determine the importance of a notification as well as how to group notifications.
In addition, there is a new messaging template section and a simple guide for grouping and styling app settings so that they match the settings pages within Oreo itself.
Ultimately developers do not have to follow the Material Design guide to the letter but there are big benefits to doing so as it creates a better user experience as they navigate from app to app.
