3 Google Features Still Missing After All These Years
▼ Summary
– Google Photos for iOS has a floating bottom bar with a pill design, but the Android version still uses a tall, outdated bar despite Google showing the new design multiple times.
– Gboard tested pill-shaped keys in March 2025 that match Material 3 Expressive, but the redesign has not launched to the stable version despite official screenshots.
– Gemini Live was previewed in 2024 to send messages via Google Messages, but this feature has not been added even after Live expanded support for other apps in May.
– The article lists features Google has shown off but not launched, ranging from slow rollouts to possibly scrapped projects.
– Holdout apps for the floating bottom bar design include Google Fi, Voice, and Passwords + Quick Share, while most first-party apps have already updated.
Back in February, Google Photos for iOS introduced a floating bottom bar that looked sleek and modern. It features a pill-shaped toolbar with shortcuts for Photos, Collections, and Create, while the Search (or Ask) function sits in its own circle on the right. The active tab is highlighted with a pill indicator and a small icon. This design would align Google Photos with other first-party apps like Google Chat and the revamped Google Finance. Yet despite Google teasing this layout for Android on multiple occasions most recently during the Wardrobe launch the Photos app on Android remains stuck with a tall, Material 3-era bottom bar. The vast majority of Google’s own apps have already made the switch. Holdouts include Google Fi, Voice, Passwords, and Quick Share powered by Google Play services.
Another feature that has been shown off but never delivered is a Gboard key redesign. In March 2025, Google started testing pill-shaped keys as an alternative to the standard rounded rectangles. This design feels more in line with Material 3 Expressive, following Google’s slow but steady overhaul of other keyboard elements like settings and shortcuts. Those updates have not yet rolled out widely to the stable version. Since then, various official Google screenshots have featured the more modern key design, but it remains unavailable to users today. The launch of Android 16 QPR1 and Material 3 Expressive last August seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce this change, yet it never materialized.
Finally, there is the promise of Gemini Live integration with Google Messages. At the tail end of Made by Google 2024, Google previewed Gemini Live’s ability to send messages through Google Messages. This May, Live gained support for many more Connected Apps, but Messages remains conspicuously absent. For Gemini Live to feel fully capable, achieving feature parity with the main chat experience is essential.
If any other long-promised Google features come to mind, feel free to chime in below.
(Source: 9to5google.com)
