The Google App is getting a bottom search bar, says report

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

The Google App is one of the most popular apps on Android phones. It is the key to the Android search experience and comes preloaded on most Android phones globally, as part of the Google Mobile Services (GMS) suite of apps.

The folks at TheSpAndroid spotted that Google had moved the position of the search bar on the new version 14.48.26.29.arm64 of the Google App. Now, the search bar is at the bottom instead of the top. 

Switching the Google App search bar position is a significant move 

However, the simple move of shifting the search bar to the bottom is far more significant than you may think. 

First of all, the search bar is at the bottom, so it is easier to reach, and it is also Google’s silent acknowledgment that modern smartphones may have gotten too big for their own good. 

It has reached a point where a UX element on the top half of the display does not provide the best conversion rates, i.e., users are seeing it but not clicking on it enough. 

Hence, moving the search bar to the bottom is a significant change, making it easier to click on the box and improve the overall search experience. 

Meanwhile, Google moved the Chrome URL bar to the bottom on iOS recently, while the Android version still features the URL bar on top. 

We may be getting ahead of ourselves, but it seems a change is coming. While Google has only changed the search bar position for the Google App, we are hoping the same could happen to Chrome for Android soon. Fingers crossed. 

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Google Drive files are going missing for some desktop users
• Google Maps gets new features to combat fake content
• Google Bard gets the ability to understand YouTube videos
• Millions of inactive Google accounts soon to be deleted