Facebook has begun testing a redesigned Messenger app for Android that now boasts touches of Material Design, including a useful floating action button and a transparent status bar.

Messenger already sports a pretty modern design, and its new look isn’t exactly a big departure from the old one — but it is certainly an improvement that you’ll welcome.

The big change on smartphones is the introduction of the floating action button, which replaces the blue navigation bar that previously sat at the bottom of the screen. Tapping this will give you the option to compose a new message or search for a message.

You will also notice that the status bar is now transparent, and Facebook has made some small but noticeable changes to its tab icons. The thin grey line that previously sat between individual chat threads has also been removed.

These changes appear to be happening on the server side, so there is no APK you can download and install to get them early, unfortunately. If you don’t already see them in Messenger on your device, then, all you can do is wait.

• ViaAndroid Police