Google Plus for mobile gets a redesign and a speed boost

Google says it has added some new design elements and speed to its Google Plus social network running on mobile devices.

“Starting today on mobile web, you’ll see a beautiful new stream design, improved sharing flow and a much faster experience,” Google writes on its (surprise!) Google Plus page.

Google Plus’s new face does look pretty on my new Motorola E phone, incorporating some of the vibe of Material Design, a design aesthetic used in Google’s Android OS. Indeed, Google executives have said that the Material Design guidelines would start to migrate across Google properties.

Posts seem to load up faster, too.

The improvements, Google says, will work on both phones and tablets.

Google originally launched Google Plus in June 2011 ago in answer to the growing success of Facebook. But it may have been too late, as many consumers preferred to stick with Facebook and have been reluctant to use multiple social networks.