Google announces new features and icon for its Messages app

Google has announced several new updates for its Messages app, including a Voice Message Transcription, an in-line reply, and other improvements. The app also has a new icon that adapts to the Material You themes. The company has emphasized that its Messaging app is built around RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol that supports high-resolution images and videos, richer texts, and comes with end-to-end encryption.

Google is adding an in-line reply feature to the Messaging app that will allow users to respond to a particular message in a conversation when RCS is enabled. Earlier this year, the company added support for showing emoji reactions from iPhone devices on Android phones. Now, Android users can also react to SMS texts from iPhone users with emojis.

The Messages app now comes with a Voice Message Transcription feature that auto-transcribes the audio messages to text using machine learning. “Say you’re in a crowded space and get an audio message from a loved one: transcripts will let you “view” the audio like you would a traditional text message,” the company explained in a blog post. This feature is currently available on select devices, including the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 6, Pixel 6A, Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22, and the Galaxy Fold 4.

To help users remember important moments easily without having to open another app, Google has added Reminders in the Messages app. Users can now save Birthday, anniversary, or appointment reminders and receive reminders about them when they open the Messages app. Further, users can now watch YouTube videos within Messages without switching to a different app.

The Messages app can now suggest users star messages that contain texts such as addresses, door codes, and phone numbers to help users easily and quickly find important conversations. Additionally, the Messages app can recognize texts like “Can you talk now?” and suggest a Meet call by showing an icon next to the message. It can recognize texts like “Meet on Monday at 7:00 AM” and suggest adding it to the calendar event.

Google Messages app is available to download via Google Play Store, and users can also access it on the web by visiting messages.google.com.