Yup, Google Messages flipped the ‘Reply’ and ‘Remind 1 hr’ buttons

Abner Li | Aug 12 2023 - 3:40 pm PT

While a very tiny change, the muscle memory impact of Google Messages switching the position of “Reply” and “Remind 1 hr” in notifications is comically big.

In October 2019, Google introduced the ability to be reminded of received messages at a time of your choosing. In conversation threads, long-pressing on one lets you tap an alarm clock icon in the top-right corner. You can select from various suggestions or choose your own with the usual picker.

Meanwhile, when you receive an incoming message, Google shows “Remind 1 hr” alongside “Mark as read” and “Reply.”

Google has now changed the arrangement of these actions so that it’s now Mark as read, Remind 1 hr, and Reply. In flipping the last two items, Reply is at the very right and ever so slightly easier to access instead of being in the middle of two other buttons. It’s handy in that regard but annoying for muscle memory nonetheless.

Amusingly, even this tweak is being A/B tested and not yet widely rolled out. We’re seeing it on version 20230808_01_RC00 (which is the latest beta release), but others are not.