LinkedIn has finally updated its Android app to version 4.0 with a Material Design makeover. The change is the first big refresh the company has released for Android, despite making big changes to the iOS and web-based versions.

The new version of the social network for professionals comes with new animations along with a clean, modern and approachable design. We like the less gray colors and the addition of more white, as this gives us the feeling of being a part of something that is not Twitter and several other social networks.

The app also makes better use of the screen real estate allowing more content to show. Furthermore, the layout has changed a lot as well. It comes off similar to the Facebook app from our point of view. As for the side drawer, it has now been completely removed, instead there is now a blue bar at the top with several icons.

These icons allow the user to quickly access the news feed, messages, profile connections, and to search for a user's profile or some other relevant information. When it comes down to the settings page, it has been moved over to the profile section. In the settings area, users can make changes to how the app behaves, and also have the ability to edit the profile settings in more ways than before.

Overall, the new experience makes using LinkedIn that much easier. For the first time, we felt like using the LinkedIn app instead of visiting the website. Clearly this is a step in the right direction for LinkedIn.

The new LinkedIn app can be downloaded right now from the Google Play Store. However, folks should know that this is a staged rollout, so the update might not be accessible until a few days have passed. Still, it can be downloaded and sideloaded.

As for the Windows Phone version of the app, fans should not look forward to getting this new update any time soon.

Sheila Scarborough | Flickr