Google has recently announced that the RCS platform has reached 1 billion monthly active users. To mark this milestone, the Messages app is getting 7 new features that aim to let users’ personalities shine through. These features, however, do not include turning RCS message bubbles blue on iOS.
RCS is a new standard poised to replace the aging SMS and MMS, according to Google. However, the older messaging standards still exist as a backup. Essentially, RCS brings iMessage-like features to Android phones.
Google’s extensive efforts have resulted in the RCS platform offering features such as typing indicators, read receipts, threaded replies, improved group chats, and better privacy, besides high-quality media sharing options.
The new features for the Messages app include Photomoji – a feature that lets users convert a photo into a reaction using on-device Google AI. It also offers Voice Moods, which are animated emojis overlaid on a voice message to depict the speaker’s feelings. Additionally, the app will feature higher-quality voice message bit rate and sampling rate.
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Messages will also enable Screen Effects, which display vibrant full-screen animations when users type specific messages. The update will also bring a feature called Custom Bubbles, allowing users to customize bubble colors and backgrounds. Moreover, more personalization will be possible with Reaction Effects and Animated Emoji features, as well as Profile displays to address the problem of identifying unknown contacts in group chats.
On the downside, these new features will be introduced gradually, starting with the beta version of Messages. Many of these features will be available in the beta channel today, but the exact details remain unclear. Nevertheless, users can hopefully anticipate a relatively quick rollout to the stable channel.
