Awaken your Star Wars Force and Google’s apps will follow your path

Google is giving fans yet another way to celebrate the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, before its December 18 release. Once you pick one, you’ll get totally unique new graphics and goodies in many of your Google products, including Maps, Gmail, Chrome, Translate, YouTube and more.

To get the themes, go to Google.com/StarWars from your web browser and choose your allegiance when signed in to your free Google account.

Have you ever been watching a video on YouTube and thought, “Man, I really wish that progress bar was a Lightsaber”.

Google Maps Pegman (the figure you drop to go into Street View) becomes a First Order Stormtrooper or Resistance Pilot, and then jumps into either an TIE fighter or an X-wing to guide you to your destination. This is a great move for Google, and an even better way for MORE Star Wars advertising to get out there, not like we really need anymore (just kidding). Google’s effort, however, feels like it’s directly aimed at those who already are fans, with Easter eggs and clever references sprinkled throughout the user experience.

Other notable Star Wars-influenced apps include, Google Calendar, where key movie milestones have been added, and Google Now, which gives users “this day in Star Wars history facts”. IGN has all things Star Wars in the Star Wars hub.

Which side will you choose? Your decision will influence how your Google apps look.

The Google Star Wars page also features a balance counter showing how many people have chosen each side. It may take a few hours for “the Force to awaken within all your apps”.

If you are prepared to choose a side, be sure you are logged in into your Gmail account and have fun here, where the Force awaits.