Google has started rolling out a revamped account switcher in its first-party apps, beginning with Gmail for Android.
Previously, the Google Account switcher appeared as an overlay in the vast majority of first-party apps, taking up the majority of the screen but displaying what you previously interacted with in the background.
Google is currently transitioning to a full-screen account switcher that takes over everything. The background uses Dynamic Color theming and has a ‘X’ in the top-right corner. You can also close by returning to the previous screen or selecting an account.
Your centred email address appears first on the page, followed by a huge profile image and “Hi, [name]” with an exclamation point. Then there’s a big “Manage Your Google Account” button.
The next option is “Switch account,” which collapses the list and provides shortcuts to “Add another account” and “Manage accounts on this device,” along with choices to switch accounts, create new ones, and manage current accounts on the device. As previously, Gmail displays a “Storage used” line. The last buttons on the page are “Privacy Policy” and “Terms of Service.”
What interests the writer the most about this design is its fullscreen nature. It does mirror the web UI for cross-device consistency, but it feels overly complex and ultimately superfluous. The writer don’t think most people consider account switching to be worthy of a full screen. It should be a swift reaction.
On the other hand, being highly obvious makes this more user-friendly for end consumers. With the old account switcher taking up the majority of your screen already, this could be a natural progression. However, it is unclear how this would affect apps that use the account menu to store settings and shortcuts, such as the Play Store. Gemini and the Google (Search) application. Including essential navigation items in a fullscreen menu naturally disrupts continuity.
Power users can continue to rapidly switch accounts by swiping up/down on the circular profile image (from 2019).
We can see this UI in Gmail for Android version 2024.11.24.x, although it has not yet been fully rolled out to all users. This is the only app where we are seeing this design change as of today.