Google has decided to apply a long-awaited facelift to the old Google Messages application, the SMS application available on all Android devices.
With the freshly released iPhone 14 and iOS 16, the redesign of Apple Message and a number of apple applications is logically in the news. Google, the big competitor, is however not to be outdone in terms of novelties. According to our colleagues, the Messages application for Android is also about to undergo a major transformation. SMS and MMS are gradually losing ground to messaging applications that have become the preferred means of communication for billions of smartphone users around the world. Aesthetic improvements and new features are on the menu for the new Google Messages. Will the application find its place on the screens of Android owners?
9To5 Google would have discovered lines of code in the APK of Messages which suggest that it will be possible to reply to a particular message. A feature that has certainly been available for a long time on messaging applications such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger and other Signal, but totally new in traditional SMS messaging. Even more versatile and advanced messengers such as Slack or Discord are frequently used in a professional context where it is essential to be able to find the content of certain conversations without having to scroll too long. Logically, it will be possible to reply to a direct message using an emoji.
Direct reply, emojis, voice transcription, Material You: It’s the big makeover for Google Messages
The code discovered by 9To5 Google suggests that it will soon be possible to transcribe voicemail to text. Undoubtedly, the integration of voice transcription in Messages will arouse a lot of curiosity and, perhaps, convert a handful of users. Transcribing a shopping list or geographical indications, the possible applications of such a feature are numerous. A priori we will not have to worry about misuse of our personal data. Transcription will need to be manually enabled, and messages will be transcribed locally and therefore not sent to Google’s servers.
Another appreciable novelty, the image gallery will expand. While now the photos only appear in two rows at the bottom of the screen, the new design will be more spacious and it will be possible to scroll the photos vertically. Rumor has it that Google could announce the deployment of all these new features in the very near future, when the Pixel 7 is launched on October 6, for example.
Source: 9To5 Google
