Upcoming Google Messages voice recorder revamp gets new design [Video]

Abner Li | Aug 22 2023 - 9:29 am PT

Back in March, we enabled a big revamp of the voice recorder UI in Google Messages, and it has now undergone another redesign.

About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to the Play Store. When we decompile these files (called APKs, in the case of Android apps), we’re able to see various lines of code within that hint at possible future features. Keep in mind that Google may or may not ever ship these features, and our interpretation of what they are may be imperfect. We’ll try to enable those that are closer to being finished, however, to show you how they’ll look in case that they do ship. With that in mind, read on.

Today, you tap and hold the microphone in the bottom-right corner of Messages to record a voice memo. The redesign we showed off a few months ago launches a dedicated panel UI that’s persistent with a new audio waveform icon to signify the update:

The latest iteration of this UI that we enabled today looks less like the Recorder app on Pixel. You get a friendly instructional graphic, while pill-shaped buttons are placed in a bottom row. Tapping the microphone starts the recording with a waveform and count appearing. After stopping, you can playback your recording with the ability to scrub through the timeline.

There are large, clearly-labeled buttons for “Delete” and “Attach,” with sending still a two-step process.

This is a much-needed overhaul and modernization of the voice messages experience from Google. It’s not yet rolled out, but we’re hopefully nearing a launch as everything looks polished today:

This joins a set of Messages features, like the homescreen redesign, that Google has yet to officially announce.