Pixel Buds Pro 2 Moonstone and Obsidian teased, Phone picks up Material 3 UI, Google Photos revert demands rise

Google has been in the kitchen cooking up some new hardware and software. While the hardware, Pixel 10 and co., is still a few weeks away, some of the new software is already here, and it’s causing quite the stir. So let’s see what’s happening across Google’s ecosystem this week.

Pixel Buds Pro 2 sneak peek

Google seems to be building hype for its next wave of hardware, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2 are right in the mix. Just yesterday, the company accidentally listed the earbuds in two fresh colors — Moonstone and Obsidian — on its official store page (via). Moonstone comes across as a grayish tone that’s set to be the standout shade for the upcoming Pixel 10 lineup. 

This early tease aligns with leaks that have been circulating for weeks. The earbuds are expected to launch at the Made by Google event on August 20, alongside the Pixel 10 series, Pixel Watch 4, and possibly a refreshed Pixel Buds A-series.

Material 3 Expressive graces the Google Phone app

Shifting gears to software, the Google Phone app is rolling out a big update that’s all about embracing Material 3 design. This refresh, dubbed “Expressive,” brings some playful elements like animated, squiggly circles around contact photos during calls. The bottom navigation has slimmed down from four tabs to three, making things feel a tad simpler. Favorites? It’s no longer its own tab — now you’ll find it as a dropdown menu at the top of the Recents view. There’s also a new filter in Recents for sorting calls by all, missed, contacts, non-spam, or spam.

One of the bigger shifts is on the incoming call screen. Gone is the vertical swipe to answer or decline, which often led to accidental hangs-ups. Instead, you can now swipe horizontally or just tap dedicated buttons. If you’re not seeing the update yet, you can try force-stopping the app, clearing its cache, or joining the beta program through the Play Store to trigger it. I’m on the beta program and I bagged the new UI.

For those who prefer the old vertical gesture, you’re luck has run out. However, I noticed that you can still enable an option that allows you to single-tap to end or accept the call with buttons, rather than using the horizontal swipe. To do this, just go to Settings > Incoming call gesture > tap the option and select ‘Single tap’.

This ties into Google’s broader push for Material 3 across apps, which we’ve been tracking in recent months. If you’re on a Pixel, it’s worth checking your updates to see the changes in action.

Google Photos app update criticism

On a less positive note, Google Photos users are up in arms over the latest editor revamp, which leans heavy on AI features but has left many feeling it’s a step backward. The new interface packs in tools like Pop and Sharpen as buttons rather than sliders, making fine-tuning a hassle.

Crops now show corners all the time, shrinking the preview space and cluttering the screen. Sliders are wider and harder to navigate without multiple swipes, and there’s no easy way to toggle adjustments or see highlights on active edits. Worse, key functions like perspective cropping and keystone correction seem to have vanished, frustrating folks who relied on them for quick fixes.

Reddit threads are flooded with complaints, with titles like “The new Google Photos editor is terrible, please revert” summing up the mood. Users describe it as unresponsive and less intuitive, especially on smaller screens, and point out downgrades to Magic Eraser. While a few appreciate minor upsides like better blur controls, the consensus is clear: bring back the old editor. One poster on X called it “the sh*tyest update in recent times,” echoing the sentiment.

For those desperate to roll back, community tips include uninstalling the app, grabbing an older version from APKMirror, and turning off auto-updates in the Play Store. But don’t be surprised if some features change or don’t work the same. Google usually makes server-side adjustments too, so being on an older build won’t necessarily mean that you can escape every change.