Google Messages starts rolling out voice recorder redesign [U]

Abner Li | Oct 27 2023 - 4:12 pm PT

We’ve been tracking a big redesign of the voice recorder UI in Google Messages over the past few months, and it now appears to be rolling out for the first users.

Update 11/1:

Update 10/27: The redesign has rolled out in full to at least one user. Notably, you still hold down on the (new) waveform button to perform a quick recording that lets you cancel by swiping left.

However, you now have the option to swipe up to “lock”/lift your finger and bring up the new keyboard-sized UI that we previously detailed. This design preserves the speed and lightweight nature of the current approach, while adding a more dedicated UI for longer recordings.

Original 9/21: Once available on your phone, the microphone in the text field changes to a waveform icon. (This has the added benefit of being different from the button in Gboard that starts voice transcription/typing.)

Previously, you had to hold down on the mic to record. The redesign opens a persistent panel with a start/stop button flanked by Cancel/Delete and Attach. As it’s recording, a count and waveform notes progress above. You can listen to the recording before adding to the message field and sending.

One report of this new UI going live has now emerged. We also see today that Google is redesigning the inline voice messages preview to include a waveform between play/pause and the count. Compared to today’s straight line, this stands out a great deal more.

This is not yet widely rolled out and doesn’t appear on several devices we checked this evening. The redesign of the voice recorder joins the other big change that Google is readying. While the revamped homescreen is appearing for more beta users as of late, it’s not yet widely available in that test channel. These two features could easily be announced together.