Google Messages
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A recent beta update to the Google Messages app changes emoji-only messages into expressive and delightful animations.
Expand Expanding CloseSince Google I/O 2023, the push for AI in Google’s many different applications has been huge. One result of that finds itself in Google Messages, where you can let AI write a text for you. Here’s how.
Expand Expanding CloseOn the Pixel Tablet, the Google Messages app is installed by default. It’s the same APK as on phones, but launching takes you to the PWA version found on messages.google.com/web with a QR code to scan using your phone. The company told us that this is the intended experience on the Pixel Tablet (and other Wi-Fi tablets).
Expand Expanding CloseThe interface for typing and sending messages in a chat app has been on my mind lately given Google’s addition of Magic Compose (too crowded) and the redesign Apple is doing in iOS 17 (too simple).
Expand Expanding CloseWhile AT&T announced that it would use Google’s Messages app for RCS in June of 2021, the carrier maintained its own backend. That’s now changing with AT&T switching over to Google’s Jibe platform for RCS.
Expand Expanding CloseOne exciting generative AI announcement out of I/O 2023 was Magic Compose in Android’s Messages app, and Google is now starting to roll out the feature to some beta testers.
Expand Expanding CloseAs we wait for Magic Compose, Google Messages is getting a small quality-of-life addition that lets you quickly mark as read/unread by swiping in the main conversation list.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle Wallet is getting a handful of new features at I/O 2023, including a Messages RCS integration for flight boarding passes.
Expand Expanding CloseDuring Google I/O 2023, it was announced that the Google Messages app is gaining a generative AI tool called “Magic Compose.”
Expand Expanding CloseHere’s a first look at the upcoming generative AI-powered “Magic Compose” feature coming to Google Messages, which can write a meaningful reply to a message or wax poetic with a song.
Expand Expanding CloseAfter first appearing last month, the Google Messages “Send photos faster” option is more widely rolling out, and we’ve done some quick tests on how it impacts file size, resolution, and quality.
Expand Expanding CloseWhile Android 14 Beta 1.1 from last week should alleviate some issues, a different bug with the latest beta version of Google Messages has emerged today that makes the RCS client unusable.
Expand Expanding CloseRCS has grown significantly over the past few years, but one gaping hole in the product was support for end-to-end encryption. Now, after a few months of testing, Google appears to be rolling out, or at least testing, end-to-end encryption for RCS group chats in stable Google Messages updates.
Expand Expanding CloseLast month, Google made the new Messages read receipt icons official, and the company is now testing putting that status directly in your conversation list.
Expand Expanding CloseWith RCS, pictures that you send and receive are much higher resolution than they would be via MMS, but Google Messages is now testing a “Send photos faster” setting.
Expand Expanding CloseBack in December, Google rolled out a unified Pixel Launcher search experience, and a small tweak now sees a different Messages shortcut.
Expand Expanding CloseVodafone is pulling the plug on its own RCS implementation in the coming days, with an alert to customers going out now.
Expand Expanding CloseHave you ever been unsure of how best to reply to a friend? Google Messages is readying a new AI generation feature that could make replying to text messages easy as can be.
Expand Expanding CloseGoogle introduced voice message transcription with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro before later making it available to older generations. Google Messages is now improving the creation experience with a redesign of the voice recorder UI in development.
Expand Expanding CloseAfter bigger changes to “RCS” branding and read receipt icons in recent weeks, Google Messages for Android is adding a contact’s profile photo to the top of conversations.
Expand Expanding CloseAfter testing in October, Google Messages looks to be widely rolling out a redesign of read receipts with icons replacing words (sent, delivered, and read).
Expand Expanding CloseBack in November, Google started testing a vertical photo gallery in Messages for Android, and the scrolling picker is now seeing wider availability.
Expand Expanding CloseWith every app change, learning new icons and tools is an adjustment period. The Google Messages app is going through that now, changing up what a sent, delivered, and read message icon looks like. Here’s how to read those icons to know what your RCS message is doing.
Expand Expanding CloseSince last year’s “Get the Message” advertising campaign online and in New York City, awareness of Rich Communication Services (RCS) is growing more mainstream. Google is now making RCS even more consumer-facing by prominently surfacing the name of the standard — a brand, of sorts — in Messages for Android.
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