iPhone Reactions And More: What’s New In Latest Google Messages Update

Google Messages recently received an update that brings many new features to the app, including support for iPhone reactions. Over the past few years, Google has improved its Messages app which now supports RCS (Rich Communication Service). Apple’s iMessage still works on SMS (Short Message System) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). After the latest update to Messages, Google appealed to Apple to join RCS to improve cross-platform messaging.

If and when Apple’s iMessage service starts working on RCS, both companies will be able to streamline the text messaging experience between iPhone and Android smartphones. In 2021, Google Messages introduced end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for all users, making it impossible for third-parties or even Google to see the contents of a message in the app. For reference, E2EE is used by many web-based instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Signal.

With the latest update to Messages, Google has released support for iPhone reactions (sent via iMessage) to all users, after testing it for nearly two months. The company began rolling out the feature earlier in 2022. Essentially, Android smartphones with Google Messages can now display iMessage reactions or Tapbacks in the form of an emoji that is located at the bottom-right corner of the message. Previously, iMessage reactions were sent as separate messages to Android users, and these messages contained a translation of what the reaction meant.

Other New Google Messages Features

Google has released a couple of other new features for Messages. Going forward, Android users will be able to share videos in the form of Google Photos links. This would allow both the sender and the receiver of the message to view the video in its original quality. Google Messages will allow users to share images the same way in the near future. To reduce clutter in the messages section on a smartphone, Google has introduced a new feature that let users sort their messages into personal and business tabs. This will help users organize their inbox and search for specific messages easily.

Another intuitive feature coming to the app is the deletion of one-time password messages within 24 hours. The one-time passwords are not valid for more than a few minutes and these messages tend to clog up the inbox. Additionally, Google Messages will nudge users about the messages they haven’t replied to and remind them about upcoming birthdays. These new features are making their way to Android users around the world and should help to improve the user experience, especially when it comes to bridging the gap between Google Messages and Apple’s iMessage.

Source: Google