Google may be developing a new look for the Google Assistant that uses drop-down menus to provide more information to the user and a bunch of new microphone sounds for the Google Assistant. This would be the biggest interface change since 2020, when Google added the lighting feature.

The new changes are by no means certain, but could indicate a more information-dense interface.

This information was brought to us by 9to5google, which decompiled the apps Google uploaded to the Google Play store and analyzed their contents to see if they could reveal any upcoming changes to the virtual assistant. The site cautions that these changes are not certain.

Google is retaining the sliding Assistant panel, which only partially covers the phone's screen and allows users to see what is happening in the background of their mobile device. The small profile avatar in the upper right corner of the phone also appears to be intact.

However, Google now appears to be adding a small capsule-shaped button on the other side of the avatar. This button triggers keyboard input, thereby leaving the space at the bottom of the screen dedicated to the multi-colored Google Assistant microphone. Prior to this, there was a pill-shaped keyboard button to the right of the microphone at the bottom of the screen.

By hiding unnecessary search results, Google presumably hopes that users will be able to access useful and relevant information in a much more efficient manner.

The two drop-down menus featured here are "Recommendations" and "On Screen," the former presenting the user with a list of actions, the latter clearly showing a bunch of app buttons and results from the web. This is all for a cleaner user experience and is part of Google's broader effort to show users exactly what the Assistant can do.

Other new features reported are the addition of new sounds to improve the voice capabilities of Google Assistant.

When the Assistant is activated with "open_mic," the "chime is now softer and less sharp," better suited to Google Assistant's language design, and with "close_mic," the chime now fades out more smoothly, rather than echoing You can hear the full range of new sounds at the bottom of the 9to5Google article.

If these improved microphone sounds are eventually rolled out to the best Android phones, it is a small but user-focused improvement that shows that Google is as interested in the details as it is in the big smartphone updates. google I /O 2021 recently introduced some of Google's more meaty upcoming updates, but buried among them were more modest Android 12 features that users may have missed.

Of course, it is worth remembering that Google may not ship these features, but they give users a hint of where Google may be headed with its Google Assistant software.

Google has been paying considerable attention to Google Assistant in recent months, and the recent new feature to turn off Android phones via Google Assistant is one example of Google's increasing focus on products that users use frequently every day It is an example, and the design of this new assistant should help Google stay on top.

More: Android 12's New Interface Brings Big Changes to Your Phone [25].