Best New Features in Google Messages
US messaging is a complicated conversation. For iPhone users, it’s predominantly iMessage. For Android users, it’s a draw. WhatsApp is the king of third-party options, followed by others like Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Signal. Google’s default option, Messages, has always been the default SMS messaging app that lacks the features of other apps. Recently, Google wants to change this.
Many of these changes are related to RCS , the successor to SMS. With it, Google can add non-SMS features and bring the default messaging option in line with whatever third-party options people gravitate towards. The transition isn’t perfect, especially since Apple won’t budge. But even without Apple, Google has managed to turn its Messages app into a contender, thanks in no small part to its recent set of new features.
Google announced the changes in a blog post on Thursday , calling them “10 New Reasons to Love Messages from Google.” It’s clear from this bulletin that the company is aggressively marketing its messaging solution to the Android community. The good news is that there is cause for concern.
First up is the new icon for the Messages app. The icon now has two chat bubbles, one significantly more prominent than the other, and is intended for Material You. The same goes for the Contacts and Phone app icons. These icons will join other Google app icons and match your phone’s wallpaper theme. They have a blue theme by default, but as you can see below, they adapt to whatever color scheme you have.
One of my favorite new features is the ability to watch YouTube videos right in Messages. Of course, this is one of the features that other chat apps have, but better late than never. You won’t have to switch to the YouTube app just to watch a video a friend sent you.
Earlier this year, Google bridged the big gap between iOS and Android by turning iPhone reactions into emojis in Google Messages . Now this works both ways, as you can also respond to SMS messages from iPhone with emoji . Unfortunately, they will still show up as a full-text response from the iPhone user (e.g. “Jake liked ‘Do you want to see a movie tonight?'”), as well as to any other RCS user who happens to be in the chat. However, if all RCS users are participating in the chat, emoji reactions will be displayed as normal. Let’s hope Apple can at least go along with Google, if not fully implement RCS. No one wants these pedantic lyrics to clutter up group topics.
You’ll also be able to reply to specific messages , similar to how replies work in iMessage and Messenger. Your reply will be linked to a preview of the original message, making it easier to keep track of what you’re replying to.
The good news for frequent flyers is that RCS now works with United Airlines’ in-flight Wi-Fi , meaning you won’t have to wait until boarding to keep up with Google Messages conversations. We hope that other airlines will be added in the future. Until then, if you are a confirmed RCS user, you can do your best to book through United and not through another company.
With transcription of voice messages, we have come full circle. Voice messages are a convenient intermediate link between a text and a phone call. You want to send someone a quick message, but you don’t have the patience to type it all out by hand. Again, unless the recipient is somewhere where they can listen to the message, they won’t know what you said. However, if you have the right phone, Android will decode the audio messages for you, turning them back into “text” messages. This feature is available on Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 6, 6A, 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22 or Fold 4.
Google Messages is also now integrated with your Reminders . For example, if you schedule a birthday call reminder for someone, you’ll see the reminder when you open their contact to chat with them. This can also happen passively: Messages will automatically remind you of important events such as birthdays and anniversaries when these events are linked to contacts. If you have an anniversary saved, you’ll see a reminder when you open a message thread with your significant other.
One of the key features that will surely save a lot of us is the ability to star important messages . This option should be ideal for cases where contacts give us information that we will need to find out later, such as addresses, phone numbers, dates. While it’s not clear if you can tag any posts you want, Google Messages will suggest posts to tag on their own. Speaking of suggestions, Google Messages will also offer to start a Meet with texts like “Do you have time to talk now?” and prompts you to add calendar entries for messages with times and/or dates.
Depending on your country of residence, you may also see a new feature that allows you to communicate with businesses in Google Messages. This feature is similar to Business Chat on iOS, but allows you to ask questions about businesses you’ve found in Search or Maps.
Finally, Google would like to remind you that the Pixel Watch exists , even if the reviews have been less than stellar . If you have a Pixel Watch, you can start texting from the watch as well as from other devices like a Chromebook.