Last month, Google added more detailed voice guidance to Maps for visually impaired users. The firm also introduced a new capability to report road incidents on iPhones. Now, Google is testing a carousel of search shortcuts beneath the main search field, replacing the previous colored grid which was accessible by swiping up the "Explore" sheet.
Beneath the search bar, the dynamically updated eight buttons are supported by Material Theme icons depicting each category. These buttons appear in a personalized manner based upon user preferences; for example, a user who searches restaurants a lot may have the restaurant category appearing first. On tapping, a query is instantaneously performed whereas the last shortcut in the carousel - "More" - returns a comprehensive list of categories sorted by Food & Drink, Things to do, Shopping, and Services.
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Since many older devices do not have tall aspect rations, these new search shortcuts might seem jumbled on them but they are suitable for permanent display since, saving users from having to type in their queries. For now, this design is live across the globe on all Android devices running the version 10.28.2. However, the redesign of search shortcuts is currently not available on all phones, including the iOS devices.
Source: 9to5Google
