Google Messages

With the new Workspace icons fully rolled out, Google is now tweaking how Chat appears in the Android status bar to look less like Messages.

After testing in March, Google Messages is now rolling out a new “Tap to draft” behavior for Smart Replies that helps prevent accidental sends.

With the launch of iOS 26.5, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) RCS between Android and iPhone is now gradually rolling out in a process that will take place over the coming months.

Earlier this year, Google Messages seemed to have settled on a new design for read receipts. The RCS app rolled that back, but is now pursuing one element of that big redesign.

Following the announcement last month, Google Messages has widely rolled out its new Trash folder to save you from accidental deletions.

After years of back and forth, Samsung Messages is officially shutting down for good in July and, while most were already on Google Messages, the switch is frustrating to some. Why were you still using Samsung’s app?

Samsung has shared an “End of Service Announcement” for its Messages app in the US. Set for July 2026, Google Messages is the intended replacement, with Samsung offering a guided transition. This has been a long time coming.

Google Messages and Phone by Google have reached major milestones on the Play Store.

Today, you can use Google Messages for web using QR code pairing or Google Account sign-in. The original login method will soon go away.

After beta testing for the past several weeks and months, Google Messages today officially announced Mentions and the Trash folder.

Following the announcement at the start of this month, Real-time Location Sharing in Google Messages for Android is more widely rolling out.

Google Messages is getting a nice quality-of-life update with a simple Trash folder. 

As we previously spotted, Google Messages is adding a new “Tap to Draft” behavior that saves you from accidental Smart Replies.

Alongside the March 2026 Pixel Drop, Google today announced new Find Hub integrations with Google Messages and airlines to help find lost luggage.

After we spotted earlier this week, Google Messages is beginning to roll out its new real-time location sharing powered by Find Hub.

At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked, Google announced Scam Detection updates for calls and its Messages app.

After losing with the broader Material 3 Expressive redesign, the Google Messages Details page has regained edit history.

In August of 2024, Google Messages started testing a circular redesign of read receipts. This has been slowly rolling out since then, and there now looks to be wide availability for beta users.

Real-time Find Hub location sharing is coming to Google Messages for a more integrated experience on Android.

Google and Apple today announced that testing of encrypted RCS messaging between Android and iPhone is now underway.