Stickers are the messaging trend right now, with Facebook, Telegram, Google, and other companies adding them to any platform they can think of, not even stopping short of mashing up emoji. To make them even more ubiquitous and easier to use, Google is testing some changes in Messages and Gboard, adding contextual sticker recommendations to the former and sticker pack suggestions to the latter.
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RCS has always been advertised as the next-generation SMS replacement, but carriers haven't exactly been rushing to roll out the new chat features. That's why Google took matters into its own hands and rolled out its Jibe-supported network via its Messages app, but solutions like T-Mobile's Advanced Messaging haven't been compatible. That's changing, as T-Mobile and Google have teamed up to upgrade the carrier's RCS implementation and make it work with any network connected to Jibe across the globe.
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Google Messages has become the app to watch now that new leadership has been tasked with cleaning up some of sprawl created by projects of the past. A new dogfood build of the app made it into circulation, and it contains signs for some important features people have been looking forward to. For those with a desire to keep their messages private, Messages will soon support end-to-end encryption over RCS. And if you're a Google Fi user, get ready to see some huge improvements to the Messages for Web service that will bring browser-based access to calls and voicemail.
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This story was originally published and last updated .
After Google deployed RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the US without the help of the four three big carriers, the company seems to be set to repeat that effort internationally. People in multiple, mostly European countries report that they're able to use RCS features in the Messages app. That might indicate that we'll soon see RCS functionality in even more parts of the world.
This story was originally published and last updated .
Slowly but steadily, Google is turning its Messages app into a viable contender for the messenger market. As Google rolls out RCS to more and more countries, the app's chat features become more prominent, like photo attachments or stickers you'd usually have to send via MMS. As such, Google has decided to test an "attach recent picture" button in the latest beta version, but it's of questionable value at best.
Read MoreAfter killing off a few earlier attempts at conquering the chat app market, Google has decided to develop Messages at full steam. Thanks to the rich communication services (RCS) rolling out in more and more countries, the SMS app is gearing up to become a possible WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger replacement for many people. With that in mind, a simple image markup editor shouldn't be missing from the service, and Google seems to think the same. It's currently beta testing a markup tool in the application.
Read MoreGoogle gave up on its last custom chat application a while back and went all-in with RCS. However, trusting carriers to work out the details was a disaster. That's why Google started deploying RCS itself a few months ago. The company has rolled the enhanced "Chat" functionality out in numerous regions, and now you can add Spain to the list.
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We've known for a long time that Google Hangouts was destined to shut down, but most of us couldn't have predicted individual features would be slowly picked from its not-quite-dead body. That seems to be the case with the location sharing function formerly found in Hangouts. As of v32, the convenient messaging feature has been quietly removed.
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Before Google saved us all from the tyranny of the carriers, some enterprising folks worked out a sort of "hack" that enabled Google's RCS/chat services, letting us all send messages with the futuristic protocol, even if we weren't in one of the few supported markets. When it did finally start rolling out in the US, Google said that those using the hack would eventually be migrated after the initial rollout was complete. Now Google has announced that it is disabling that "hack" workaround by the end of the month.
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Last year, a new "verification code autofill" setting appeared as part of a Play Services update that promised to plug the SMS-based 2FA gap for apps that use Android's snazzy SMS Retriever API for verification codes. In short, it would be another way to autofill SMS 2FA codes that might be able to work with any app, regardless of developer support. And based on user reports, the feature may be rolling out.
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