All articles tagged with #google messages
Google Messages is reportedly getting a major UI makeover in a beta that moves buttons like the search icon and Start Chat to bottom-centered locations and adjusts their behavior for easier one-handed use; the redesign also reimagines pinned conversations as large contact icons and may limit how many you can pin, with other tweaks including a new chat backgrounds feature and a 30-day trash folder.
Google confirms a bug in Google Messages could pull old texts into new conversations or send them to unintended recipients after transferring data to a new device. A fix is rolling out over the coming weeks via a Google Messages update, with users advised to install the latest version. While the exact cause isn’t fully clear, Google indicates the transfer process is the trigger. Previous drastic workarounds like factory resets may no longer be necessary, and users should avoid sending sensitive messages until the patch reaches their device.
Google’s September Android Drop adds five features: a tracker-free way to remember item locations via Gemini Find Hub and the upcoming remembered items tab; Motion Assist to reduce motion sickness; Guided Vision in Gemini Live to help blind/low-vision users; Google Messages gains collaborative Keep integration for notes; and new chat customization options.
Google’s September Android update introduces five features: a Gemini-powered Find Hub to remember item locations (with optional photos); Motion Assist with a screen bubble overlay to reduce motion sickness; Guided vision via Gemini Live to read labels and identify objects with voice guidance; sharing and updating Google Keep grocery lists or notes inside Google Messages; and per-chat backgrounds/themes in Google Messages. Availability varies by feature: Find Hub on Android 16+ where Gemini is available; Motion Assist on Android 17+; Guided vision on Android 9+ in Gemini-supported countries.
Google's September Android Feature Drop adds five updates: Gemini x Find Hub can remember where you put items (on Android 16+); collaborative Keep lists inside Google Messages; Motion Assist provides a screen bubble to reduce car motion sickness; Gemini Live's guided vision lets you read labels in dim light; and Chat Themes in Messages let you customize private chat backgrounds.
Google’s September 2026 Android Drop brings five features across Google apps: Gemini can remember item locations in Find Hub; Google Keep notes can be created and shared inside Google Messages; Gemini Live’s Guided Vision expands to describe scenes and help with framing in low light or fine print; Google Messages adds official Chat Themes for personalized chats; and Motion Assist provides on‑screen motion cues to reduce motion sickness. A few features began rolling out in August and require compatible Android versions and Gemini availability, with broader rollout in the Android ecosystem.
Google is testing an iMessage-inspired UI for pinned chats in Google Messages, but the plan would drop the pin limit from 20 to six. The beta build shows the UI change, and user reactions on Reddit are largely negative; a slider workaround is suggested, and a decision for the stable release remains uncertain.
Google confirms a bug in Messages that splits group chats into separate threads, duplicating conversations; affected users are asked to submit feedback with #splittingthreads while Google engineers work on a fix, even as related RCS issues persist for some devices.
Samsung Galaxy owners who migrated to a new device with Smart Switch report Google Messages’ RCS failing, sometimes showing error 3100. Google says corrupted cache files transferred during Smart Switch may cause the issue and suggests updating Google Messages, turning off and on RCS, clearing Carrier Services data, rebooting, and re-enabling RCS, though not all users see relief and some have only resolved it via factory reset; carrier porting issues may also play a role.
Reddit users report that Rich Communication Services (RCS) stops working on newly switched Android devices using Google Messages, with error code 3100 indicating a server connection issue; Google advises updating the app, turning RCS off and on, clearing Carrier Services data, rebooting, and sending diagnostics if needed. Some users claim a VPN workaround (connect to a VPN, turn RCS off/on, then disconnect) helped, but downgrading Google Messages is not advised. The issue appears during device transfers and may relate to cache/data from the switch or incomplete number porting, with cross‑platform RCS requiring carrier support and up-to-date software.
Google Messages is testing an iMessage-inspired pinned-chats UI in a beta, introducing a top circular row of pinned chat icons that become square previews when new messages arrive, reducing the pin limit from 20 to six and allowing manual reordering to keep important conversations easily accessible.
Google Messages is set to cap pinned chats at six and roll out a redesigned UI that displays six large contact icons with message previews replacing the icon when new messages arrive; users can rearrange pins and they’ll stay put, though the changes aren’t live yet.
In the v20260731 beta, Google Messages lets you reorder the 3x3 attachment shortcuts by long-pressing and moving icons, and adds a caret at the top of the attachment sheet to switch the grid to fullscreen for easier access to icons like Schedule Send and Stickers.
Google Messages appears to be testing a smarter sharing flow that adds a 'Send to a group' option alongside 'Send separately' when sharing to multiple recipients. The feature can reuse an existing group chat if the selected contacts already form one, and it warns you to remove MMS numbers if you mix RCS and MMS. It seems to be a limited, server-side rollout, so it may not be visible to all users yet.
Google Messages is testing a new sharing flow that lets you send a message or photo to multiple contacts more easily by choosing 'Send to a group' or 'Send separately' and creating a group on the fly; if the recipients are already in a chat, it opens that chat instead. The feature appears in server-side tests and isn't widely available yet, as Google continues to migrate users from Samsung Messages.