© 2023 SamMobile
SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.
Last updated: December 1st, 2023 at 17:33 UTC+01:00
Google is celebrating a major milestone in its mission to make RCS messaging the standard messaging standard used around the world instead of the outdated SMS and MMS protocols: more than one billion users are now actively using Google Messages with RCS enabled.
Google has made a heavy push for RCS in the last decade. RCS enables features such as the exchange of high-quality media files and end-to-end encryption in the native SMS/MMS apps on Android devices; since RCS is built into the native SMS/MMS app, it can fall back on those traditional standards when there is no internet connection.
New Google Messages features make conversations more vibrant
RCS is similar to Apple’s iMessage, though Apple uses its in-house protocol which makes iMessage incompatible with RCS and Android devices in general. But Apple recently caved and announced that it will be adding RCS support to iPhones next year, a move Google has welcomed with open arms.
At the same time, to celebrate its billion-RCS-users milestone, the internet giant is releasing seven new features to the Google Messages app, which is the default messaging app on many Android devices, including those launched by Samsung after 2020.
Google says these seven new features are designed to “help your personality shine through“. The features include Photomoji, which can turn your photos into reactions; Google has also added reaction effects, which animate traditional reactions like the thumbs up sign. Similarly, Google Messages will also animate emojis that are sent as a message in a chat.
Then there are screen effects, which animate the entire screen when phrases such as “I love you” are detected in the chat. Furthermore, users can customize the message bubble’s color and the background of each conversation, and they can also personalize their profile name and picture accompanying their phone number with the Profiles feature.
For voice messaging, Google is introducing Voice Moods, which lets you send voice messages with an emoji that is displayed alongside the voice message so the recipient can “hear your words along with a visual effect that expresses how you’re feeling at that moment“. Audio quality of voice messages has been improved as well thanks to an increased bitrate and sampling rate.
Google Messages beta users can try out the features starting today
All of these features are rolling out for Google Messages users who are using the app’s beta version. Google isn’t saying when the features will be released globally on the non-beta app, so if you want to try them out right now, you can sign up to be a beta tester by clicking this link and following the instructions.
You might also like
Google has announced a bunch of new features for Android ecosystem of devices. As we approach the end of this year, Google has surprised users by releasing new features to Android smartphones, Wear OS-based smartwatches, and Google TV-based smart TVs. Let us check them out in detail. First up, the Gboard app on Android smartphones […]
Google and Samsung have been pushing the RCS standard a lot over the past few years, and it seems to have worked. Even Apple has announced that it will bring support for RCS Universal Profile to iPhones next year. Ahead of that release, Google is adding even more features to Google Messages RCS. Google has […]
Samsung Messages used to be the default SMS app on Galaxy smartphones and tablets until 2021. With the Galaxy S21 lineup and One UI 3.1, Samsung started pushing Google Messages as the default SMS app while continuing to have its own app installed, and that’s been the case on every new phone launched since then. […]
Google has been working on the profiles feature for its Messages app for months, but it wasn’t clear up until now what it’s for. However, thanks to the latest APK Insight post, we now have a better idea of what this feature can do. According to 9To5Google, some strings of codes were spotted in the […]
Google wants to turn RCS into a real iMessage competitor, and it is imperative that it supports not just phones but also computers and wearable devices for that to happen. Google Messages supports computers through the web, and you can access your messages and send new messages through a web browser. However, accessing Google Messages […]
The internet has changed the way people go about their daily lives. People spend a lot of time online and on their phones and use the internet to accomplish things that, just a few years back, would have required them to physically step out of the house. From something as simple as ordering groceries and […]
Best picks
Devices
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
SM-A146B
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
SM-S711U
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE
SM-X510
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE 5G
SM-X516B
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+
SM-X610
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ 5G
SM-X616B
Samsung Galaxy Buds FE
SM-R400
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
SM-X110
November 2023 security patch
Social media
Reviews
Notebook
TV
© 2023 SamMobile