Google launched Material Design back in 2014 and has since been slowly embedding it into all its core products. Calendar is one of the last services to get its Material overhaul. After being rumoured several months ago and requested for a while longer, Google’s finally ready to start the rollout of Calendar’s new look.
The redesigned app is based on the existing mobile version for iOS and Android. It has bigger controls, brighter colours and more whitespace between different elements. The site is fully responsive so it’ll work on any desktop screen size without suffering from content clipping or overflow issues.
Google’s also aimed to make Calendar a more effective workplace tool. Business customers who use Calendar as part of G Suite have access to several new features aimed specifically at organisations. These include room details when you’re choosing a venue for an event and the option to view multiple calendars side-by-side in the day view. The latter ability’s aimed at admin assistants who need to view the calendars of several team members so they can schedule group events.
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“Starting today, a fresh look and new features are coming to Google Calendar on the web to help you manage your time more efficiently and get more done,” said Google. “We’re taking a lot of what you know and love from Calendar’s mobile application, like the modern color palette and sleek design, and bringing it to the web with a responsive layout that auto-adjusts to your screen size. We’ve also added more features for enterprises to help teams schedule and prepare for meetings.”
Additional smaller changes include the ability to get contact information for meeting participants by hovering over their name, an improved deleted item recovery process and new formatting options for event invitations. Across the entire app, Google has made the interface more accessible so people using assistive technologies such as screen readers will be able to fully utilise their calendar.
Calendar’s overhaul brings a modern look and more functionality to one of Google’s most popular web services. The focus on workplace features also demonstrates the growing appeal of G Suite, Google’s expanding suite of enterprise cloud software. Bringing the app up-to-date with its rivals will help Google retain its presence inside businesses, demonstrating it can support the needs of its most demanding customers.
