Top and bottom bars are ubiquitous across Android apps and provide access to key actions, navigation, and information. However, the terminology around them — status bar, toolbar, navigation bar, etc — can be confusing. This article will clarify these terms.

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Top and bottom bars in Android apps, including status bars, toolbars, and navigation bars, can often be confusing. This post clarifies their roles and functionalities. System bars are uniform across apps and managed by the phone's system. The top app bar provides app identity and navigation, changing dynamically with the screen. Android's ActionBar and Toolbar serve as top app bars with various customizations. Jetpack Compose introduces the TopAppBar for similar purposes, supporting the Material Design guidelines. The bottom app bar, including NavigationBar and BottomAppBar, offers key actions and navigation at the bottom of the screen.

Android App Bars vs Toolbars vs Other Bars, Explained