Google is giving its long-standing voice search feature on Android a long-overdue visual overhaul, aligning it more closely with the company’s newer Search Live interface. The update modernizes one of the most familiar yet outdated elements of the Google app—the microphone-based search experience that has looked largely the same for years.
Traditionally, voice search in the Google app allowed users to dictate queries and hear spoken results, accompanied by a minimalist interface featuring Google’s signature four-dot waveform animation. The new design introduces a more fluid and modern layout, centered around simplicity and motion. When users tap the microphone icon—whether from the Google app, the Search results page, or the Pixel Launcher bar—they’ll now see a centered “G” logo above a text prompt that reads “What’s on your mind?” Once a user starts speaking, the prompt shifts into a live transcription view.
The waveform animation has also been redesigned. Instead of the four-dot pattern, an arc now vibrates in response to the user’s speech, mirroring the visual language of Search Live. At the bottom of the interface, Google has added a clear shortcut for song identification labeled “Play Sing Hum,” replacing the older globe animation. This change makes the “Search a song” feature far more prominent, streamlining how users can hum or sing a tune for instant recognition.
Alongside the visual update, Google has refreshed the sound cues associated with the feature. The familiar “ping” that signals microphone activation and timeout now matches the tone used in the company’s newer AI Mode, creating a more cohesive experience across different parts of Google Search.
Although the redesign has not yet rolled out widely, it reflects Google’s broader effort to unify the look and feel of its search ecosystem. The move follows a series of recent interface updates, including improvements to Google Lens and the introduction of Search Live’s real-time visual feedback system. Together, these updates are gradually transforming how users interact with Google’s core search tools—bringing a consistent, more polished design language to features that many still use daily.
The refreshed voice and song search interface reinforces that even as Google invests heavily in generative AI and multimodal features, the straightforward act of speaking to Search remains a key part of the Android experience.
