The Google messaging app for Android is getting an interesting new update today. Google Messages, as the app is called these days, can show iPhone reactions in the form of emojis, “just as if you were texting someone using an Android device,” Google says. This will initially be available for devices that are set to English.
Then the videos shared via Messages can be sent from Google as Google Photos links right inside the conversation. This means iPhone users will be able to view a high-quality version of the video through Google Photos, instead of the dull clutter usually sent to them via MMS. In the near future, you will also be able to send photos in a similar way.
Google wasted no time in condemning Apple for ignoring RCS, the standard that “today allows people with Android devices to share beautiful, high-quality photos and videos with each other.” Google said it encourages “Apple to join the rest of the mobile industry and adopt RCS” so it can “make messaging better and more secure, no matter which device you choose.”
Google Messages has some other new features as well, like an organized inbox that automatically sorts your messages into personal and business tabs. One-time password messages can be set to be automatically deleted after 24 hours to reduce clutter. This feature is landing in the US after initially launching in India.
Gentle alerts remind you to respond to messages you may have missed or simply forgotten (Gmail does this too). This is rolling out first to English users around the world.
Finally, if you save someone’s birthday in your device’s Contacts app, you’ll get a nice reminder on that day, when you open messages or engage in conversation with them.
All of these updates are rolling out “over the coming weeks”.
“Unapologetic communicator. Wannabe web lover. Friendly travel scholar. Problem solver. Amateur social mediaholic.”