Google Messages gets 7 new features to mark 1 billion RCS users

Google Messages now has more than one billion monthly active users who have RCS enabled within the app. To celebrate reaching this milestone, Google Messages is introducing seven new features to help you express yourself better than before, perhaps in preparation for the upcoming iOS integration.

To celebrate reaching 1 billion RCS users, Google is adding 7 fun new ways ranging from shared themes and screen effects to AI-powered reactions for Messages users to express themselves better when communicating and connecting with other Android users. Here they are!

This feature lets you turn your favorite photos into a reaction using Google’s AI. All you need is to select a photo, pick what you want to turn into a photomoji, and hit the “Send” button. Even better is that the photomoji you create will be saved for reuse and your friends in group chats can also use the photomoji you send.

Voice moods bring audio messages to life. You can choose from nine different emotions to include in your audio messages for your friends to see a visual that perfectly captures your current feelings. Google Messages users will also enjoy improved bitrate and sampling rate in voice messages.

When typing specific phrases like “it’s snowing” or “I love you”, you will see full-screen animations. With the new update, you’ll have over 15 hidden Screen Effects prompt words to pick from so you never run out of options.

Google Messages will allow users to customize the bubble color and backgrounds in conversations to make them stand out. You can have each conversation dressed up in a different background color so that nothing gets mixed up.

Google has added special reaction animations for ten popular emoji with the new update. The emoji in question are 👍❤️ 😂😮😡👎💩🎉😠😢.

With this feature, Google aims to take emoji reactions to the next level by infusing each message with a captivating burst of visual effects to effectively capture your feelings in the moment.

This feature lets you personalize your profile name and photo to properly define your appearance on Google services. This way, you should easily know the person sending a message even if you don’t have their phone numbers, which is especially useful in group chats.

Google says these features are now available for Android users, although you’ll have to join the beta program to get a front seat. There’s no word on when they’ll be available for everyone through the stable channel, but my guess is it won’t be long.