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There’s nothing more entertaining than some good old pettiness between two tech conglomerates that have a higher combined market capitalization than just two countries’ GDPs, but that’s what we have here. Apple and Alphabet (Google) have very little love for each other, and nowhere is that more felt than when both companies take shots at each other in their marketing efforts. Recently, Google has turned up the wick when it comes to fighting Apple’s market share, leading to the “Best Phones Forever” campaign that has poked fun at the iPhone 15’s USB-C implementation and the lack of Apple RCS support. That brings us to the latest Google-Apple spiciness, as Android’s new Google Messages landing page brags that RCS is coming to iPhones this fall.
Gemini in Google Messages sees a wide beta rollout
If you're lucky, you can now try out Gemini on the Messages app
Chatbots can be a bit of a puzzle for users because they're expected to do a lot: act as a search engine, help create things, and be an assistant, all rolled into one. This is even more challenging when it's a chatbot from Google. The search giant has been diving deep into AI to boost its search engine, voice assistant, and pretty much every other tool it has. Now, Google Gemini is starting to slide into your private messages too, if you're one of the lucky Google Messages beta testers.
Latest Google Messages beta makes sending multiple images a breeze
Image editing tools are still missing, though
Google Messages is one of the staple chat apps on Android with support for RCS and conventional SMS messaging. Although it cannot hold a candle to the likes of WhatsApp and Telegram in terms of features, you can get by sharing images, location pins, stickers, GIFs, and voice notes in RCS chats. However, the user interface doesn’t make it very easy to share multiple images quickly. Thankfully, widespread beta testing for a potential fix ensued recently.
Google Messages gets a new camera UI, but it's not all roses
The new viewfinder is stripped down compared to the system camera app
Sharing photos and videos on your go-to messaging apps is an awesome way to stay connected with your loved ones. Google Messages has been making things even easier by adding a tweak to its UI and putting a camera icon right on the home screen to make it quicker to send photos and videos. Previously, you could only access the camera UI from within a specific conversation, and deciding between snapping a picture or recording a video wasn't as smooth. Now, Google is rolling out a new camera UI to fix some of those issues, though it's not flawless.
Google Messages is starting to roll out custom RCS colors
Blue bubbles on Android! And red bubbles, and orange bubbles, and...
It may not have the global adoption rates of WhatsApp or the mindshare of iMessage, but RCS is a big deal — particularly in the US, where a huge percentage of Android users are now chatting with the updated standard meant to replace MMS and SMS. Over the years, Google Messages has become the de facto home for RCS as the company continues to add features to both its app and its Jibe platform to help push the ecosystem forward. Now, RCS chats are gaining a significant customization option for some.
Google Messages is blocking RCS texts on rooted Android phones
The company says it is doing so to prevent spam and abuse
Rooting an Android phone is no longer as popular as it was a few years ago. Plus, if you root your phone now, you will run into several issues, like Google Wallet and banking apps not working, as the device will fail the Play Integrity API test. It makes sense for Google to block banking apps and payment functionality on rooted phones for safety and security reasons. But the company is now taking things a step further and has started blocking RCS from working in Google Messages on rooted or bootloader unlocked Android devices.
We've known for a while now that Google Messages would pick up some form of AI capabilities. Since the start of the year, we've come across multiple reports of Google Gemini (formerly Bard) integrating with Google Messages. This particular feature addition is now official, with Google announcing Gemini for Google Messages (in beta) as part of its multi-layered MWC 2024 announcements.
Google Messages is likely the chat app Google has taken most seriously out of all its failed attempts in the past. The RCS and SMS messenger keeps getting updates with important security features and quality-of-life enhancements. The latest improvement is the ability to double tap to send a thumbs-up reaction, which is currently rolling out in the beta version of Messages.
Google Messages could soon let you edit sent texts
A feature that has been available in all popular messaging apps for years now
The best messaging apps for Android allow you to edit the texts you send easily. Google Messages is the only outlier, lacking the ability to edit RCS messages. In December 2023, flags in the Messages beta app revealed that Google was working on this feature. A new report confirms the imminent arrival of the edit option for sent texts in Google Messages and sheds more light on how it will work.
Google Messages gradually rolls out Screen Effects
Type out some special phrases to get rewarding visuals
Google Messages celebrated a significant milestone last year, announcing that the service has a billion active RCS users. To commemorate the occasion, the Messages team also offered a preview of some new features coming to Google's messaging app. A few of these have already made their way to Messages in some parts of the world, including voice moods, AI-powered Photomoji, reaction effects, animated emoji, etc. However, Screen Effects, also revealed in the November 2023 preview, weren't activated. It looks like Google is now slowly but surely making this available to Messages users.
Google Messages could soon let you double tap to react
The feature was spotted in beta, but is not live in the app just yet
While it’s true that Google has a seemingly endless list of products and services, the company rarely lets one of its core products fall by the wayside. Google is proving this as it continues to develop new features for Messages, the default texting app for many Android devices, and the one at the forefront of the recent RCS push. Features like message reactions are core to the enhanced RCS experience. Now, it could get even easier to use them in ongoing conversations.
Bard AI in Google Messages could come equipped with extension support
Extensions would allow you to access other Google services within the AI chatbot
Google has been focused on its AI initiatives for quite some time, but the evolution of OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot continues to put pressure on the tech giant. Bard is Google’s take on a generative AI-based chatbot, and the company remains focused on refining its features to keep up with the competition. This also means finding more ways to integrate Bard into existing products and services, such as Google Assistant and Google Messages. Now, a report indicates the chatbot could be more powerful than we initially thought once it debuts in Google's messaging app.
Google Messages' Bard AI integration gets one step closer to reality
Google Bard is getting a contact card in Messages
It's no secret that Google is aggressively pushing to integrate its Bard AI chatbot into as many services as possible. Roughly eleven months ago, when most of Bard's capabilities were still unknown to many, we learned that Google Messages would also pick up the AI chatbot in the future. Fast forward to last month, when a beta version of Messages revealed how Bard would operate within the app. However, unlike other 1-1 conversations in Messages, Bard didn't have its own Contact info page or profile. Google is now fixing this by offering a full-page contact card when tapping the Bard icon or image at the top of the screen.
This Google Messages bug is making it harder to reply on Android
If your notifications are missing the Reply option, you aren’t alone
If you use Google Messages as a primary form of communication, you might rely on notifications from the app on your Android device to keep up with conversations. Pop-up notifications give you a few action options, such as snoozing and marking messages as read. They also typically allow you to tap “Reply” and write a quick response, but a new bug seems to be preventing this feature from functioning correctly.
Google Messages is still playing catch-up with potential image upgrade
Caption support is in the works
Google has recently thrown its weight behind RCS messaging, toting it as a rival of the best instant messaging apps on Android. Google Messages played a massive role in popularizing RCS, and was greatly helped by the app’s availability on our favorite Android phones as well as devices at multiple price points. To stay competitive, Google regularly updates the app as well, and a new image captioning feature seems to be in the cards.
How to retrieve deleted texts on your Samsung phone
Lost your texts? Here are a few tips to bring back your messages
Texting is many peoples' main form of communication, from making plans to sharing important information. Sometimes, tapping the wrong button or making a rash decision may cause you to delete texts you still need. Most Android phones, including the best Samsung phones, use Google Messages by default, but you may use Samsung Messages, a carrier alternative, or something else. However, you're not totally out of luck. This guide shows you how to find and restore your deleted text messages for several text messaging apps.
Here's how Bard will work in Google Messages
Stuck on words? Need a language fix? Want to know what that thing is? Bard's got you covered
Over the past year, Google has been diving deep into AI, integrating the Bard chatbot into various apps and services like Google Workspace, which includes Docs, Gmail, Drive, Sheets, and more. Now, it looks like Google Bard is making its way to Google Messages, bringing its helpful AI features to more users.
Google Messages is working on selfie GIFs to jazz up your conversations
Make quirky GIFs out of four-second videos
Google Messages is bundled by default on some of our favorite Android smartphones. The last few weeks have been fairly exciting for users of the texting app, with Google deciding to expand Magic Compose outside the US. In late November, Messages picked up a trove of new features to commemorate reaching 1 billion RCS users on the app. But it seems like not all of the additions went live during the time, and we're now getting a sneak peek at one such attribute.
RCS on Google Messages finally supports dual SIM
Switching between two phone numbers on RCS is becoming seamless
RCS has been around for more than a decade at this point, first adopted by the GSMA in 2008. It took a long time for the new messaging standard to become widespread, though, with Google Messages playing a big role. Initially, there were a lot of exceptions, with RCS working on some carriers in some countries only. Those issues were quickly ironed out, but there was still one thing missing: Seamless support for switching between different SIM cards. Google has now added the feature to the Messages beta, and it’s already working for some testers.
How to use Google Messages' Photomoji feature
We thought emojis and stickers were the end of it, until Google brought Photomojis - your personalized expressions in the Messages app
Google celebrated a billion monthly active RCS users in November 2023, and it wasn't without gifts. To express gratitude, the company released seven new features in the Google Messages app, including Photomoji. Emojis, GIFs, and stickers exist in the app to enrich your texting experience and help you convey the right expressions. Photomoji applies a personal touch.