Google+ Beta for Web Launching Today

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A beta version of Google+ that promises to be "simpler, faster, better" is launching today, which features the biggest changes to Google's social network in years.

The optional beta for the web version of Google+ shows off an all-new Material redesign, major changes to profiles and a possibly controversial killing of stale, underused features. We'll cover everything you need to know about the beta, how to test drive and submit feedback below.

What's New

I'll start with the obvious - Material Design. Every aspect of the new layout has been adorned with material design, which is Google's design standard which was announced at last year's Google I/O and one that has been evolving since. So what does this mean for us? A clean user interface which is consistent across devices of all screen sizes, and smooth, spiffy animations to glue it all together.

Different features are themed with a colour as you access them, so expect to see plenty o'green when you click on Communities, blue when visiting Collections and red on the home stream. I've got to add, we did it first.

Aside from the fresh new look, expect very speedy performance from the beta.

Open Sharing

Choose how you want to share
Hit the re-share button on a post and you'll be asked whether you want to share it on Google+, Facebook, Twitter or via a link. This is a pretty good move I'd say, and may encourage users to share what they love to other platforms too. Nice one, Google.
New Post Button
The persistent sharebox is dead. To start composing a new post, you'll just need to click on the big red button on the bottom-right. From there, you can add photos, share a link or your location. Notice anything missing? Yep, we'll talk about that a little further down...

Profiles

Profiles now put focus on your collections
Your new Google+ profile puts the focus on the collections you've created, showing them up front and centre, with posts below.

Tabs have disappeared in favour of a new, understated 'i' button, which will take you to the about page, which isn't part of Google+ any more, confusingly. It's all on http://aboutme.google.com, but your information is still pulled to and from Google+, and sharing settings still rely on circles.

There's not much to edit on your G+ profile any more. You can still change your profile and cover photo, as well as what collections and communities you'd like to be displayed on your profile, but everything else is edited through your 'About Me' profile. This is probably going to confuse a lot of people.

Search and Explore

Hit the search bar to discover featured and suggested people, pages and other content
Search on the new Google+ has been dramatically improved, with suggested content appearing as soon as you click on the search bar at the top. Typing will bring up results instantly, pushing down the featured content to avoid any unnecessary distractions. You can search for people, pages, communities and collections blazingly fast. I love it.

What's Missing

The Google+ development team is continuing their aim of a simpler, leaner and more refined product, keeping the features that work and throwing away the ones that aren't widely used. Unfortunately, this list is a lot longer than the features that have been added to the beta.
  • Google+ Events no longer exists
  • There isn't a way to post polls
  • Can't share to extended circles
  • Love to search communities? Sorry but that has been killed off too
  • Hangouts integration is no longer a thing, which is something we've all seen coming for a while
  • Hover cards are gone - Seriously, I hope they bring this back
  • Google Maps review tab on profiles
  • Probably lots of other little things
Let's hope at least a couple of these will be brought back for the final release.

How to Get Your Mitts on the Beta

Invitations to try the fresh goods are rolling over the course of the day, and you'll be greeted with a pop-up when it's your turn in line. You won't miss it, but if you do, there's a handy link knocking about at the bottom-left corner of the home stream.
If the redesign hasn't rolled out to you just yet, you can force it by managing your Google+ activity and checking out your Activity Log page: plus.google.com/apps/activities. After that, the update will be automatically pushed. However, be warned, it seems to be going back on it's own sometimes.

Submitting Feedback

Now you're a tester, why not let Google know what you love, what you hate and what isn't working right? To keep it simple, the process of submitting feedback is exactly the same as on the current stable version.
You can find the feedback link in the navigation menu on the left of the page. If it isn't there, just hit the hamburger icon on the top-left. Everything else is standard - Type a brief description and highlight and black out the required parts in the screenshot and it'll be sent straight to the development team, which will hopefully act on the most popular pieces of feedback.

Updated Mobile Apps

As teased in the banner above, updated mobile apps for both Android and iOS are coming soon, featuring a new look which is consistent with the overhauled desktop version. You know what the best part of this is? The hamburger menu is back!

What do you love (and hate) about the new Google+ Beta?

Source: +Luke Wroblewski  - Google+