A major update is in the works for Tasker and it finally includes a Material Design-based user interface. Make no mistake, the app earned well over a million downloads summarily on its functionality alone. With Tasker, Android users can automate and create functions that range in complexity from automatically changing sound settings based on location or time of day to creating applets that change every device setting based on a complex series of events. The beta for the updated automation utility will be available at some point this week and more information on what should be available at the source link below soon. However, while the wait will soon be over on the aesthetic side of things, the update is expected to bring much more to the table than simple beautification.
The dev behind Tasker has listed four “highlights” for this next iteration of the app. Material Design, however, takes up the top two spots on that list and is being added for devices running Android 5.0 or better. In addition to the overall theme being reworked to Material standards, the update adds around 900 Material Design icons and selectable colors. Beyond that, the current Tasker default theme has been added and accessible via the Preferences menu, under the UI heading – again, for devices running Android 5.0 or better. It will also add customization support for Quick Settings on Android 7.1 (Nougat) devices and custom App Shortcuts for devices running 7.1.1 or better. Further still, the upcoming Tasker update is set to bring a ton of other changes.
In fact, there are more than 40 in total, if bug fixes and changes are accounted for alongside newly added actions and design changes. A full list of those is available at the source. More changes could, of course, be made to the list of upcoming changes over the course of the update’s beta test. That said, the highlighted changes should be all but set in stone for the next update. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a timeline given for the upcoming changes to be implemented for all users of the main application and beta runs can vary widely in both scale and time taken. All the same, the changes are coming and this represents a significant update for one of the most useful applications in the Play Store.