Key Points:
- Google is no longer actively developing Material Web Components (MWC).
- The existing team is exploring ways to maintain the library with help from the community.
- This shift prioritizes Google’s internal Wiz framework, used for performance-critical applications.
Material Design enthusiasts take note: Google has made a strategic shift regarding Material Web Components (MWC). While MWC offered a robust library of pre-built components for developers to seamlessly integrate Material Design into their web projects, Google is no longer actively staffing its development. This decision comes as the company prioritizes its internal large-scale framework, Wiz.
Launched in October 2023 with a promising 2024 roadmap, MWC provided a comprehensive set of components like buttons, menus, and text fields, all adhering to Material Design principles. However, a recent announcement confirmed that MWC has transitioned into maintenance mode, effectively halting further development and new feature rollouts.
It’s important to clarify that MWC is not being deprecated or removed entirely. Existing components will still function, but the library won’t receive official updates going forward. The original team behind MWC is actively exploring alternative solutions, including identifying potential community maintainers to ensure the library’s continued usability.
The driving force behind this change lies in Google’s internal framework landscape. MWC engineers have been reassigned to focus on supporting and developing Wiz, a framework increasingly crucial for Google’s internal applications. Wiz plays a critical role in powering performance-centric services like Google Search and Photos, contrasting with Angular Material (used on gemini.google.com) which prioritizes developer experience. Google’s long-term vision involves merging Angular and Wiz to create a unified framework that offers both optimal performance and a developer-friendly environment.
While MWC’s future remains uncertain, the existence of Angular Material provides an alternative pathway for developers seeking Material Design components for their web projects. With this shift in focus, Google emphasizes its commitment to internal development tools that facilitate the creation of high-performance applications.
