Google has been making plenty of changes to the Messages app over the past couple of months, perhaps in readiness for the wider rollout of Android 14. One of the major changes was the home screen redesign that rolled out in late September just ahead of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro launch. The navigation drawer is gone, meaning you now have to tap on your profile icon in the top-right corner to find Archived, Spam & blocked, Mark as all read, and Device pairing options.
In another planned UI redesign, Google is reportedly preparing a new update to the Messages app that will add further tweaks to the profile UI. But unlike the previous redesign that targeted the home screen, the incoming changes will affect the profile of the recipient of your message.
Currently, when chatting with a friend using the Messages app, their name appears at the top of the chat. Tapping on the name opens a new page showing their avatar, and below the avatar are voice calling, text and video calling icons. The contact info then comes after as seen in the screengrab below, but this is about to change once Google rolls out the new redesigned profile UI in the Messages app.
According to TheSpAndroid, Google Messages will soon get a new profile UI in line with the overall redesign of the app. The text icon below the avatar is gone and replaced by “People” and search icons. Below these icons you’ll find more settings for Notifications, toggle to enable or disable sending SMS and MMS messages, and an option to block the contact. You can also verify if end-to-end encryption is enabled or even add other people to the chat under this section.
Below is a screenshot showing the upcoming redesign to the contact’s profile in Google Messages. Note that the image below shows the redesign you can expect on the page you see in the screenshot above.
In another change, the Google Messages app will also get a redesigned text input bar. The plus (+) and gallery icons that currently appear to the left of the text area will now be moved to the right, but this time live inside the text area. The smiley icon will still live inside the input area, but on the left where the + icon currently is. There’s also a new home for the voice message icon that now lives alone, but it keeps its position to the far right of the text area. Below are screenshots of before (left) and the upcoming changes (right).
These changes are reportedly live in beta versions of Google Messages v20231117_01_RCO0, but there’s no known date of when they’ll be available widely.
Featured image: Google
Hillary Keverenge
2107 Posts
Tech has been my playground for over a decade. While the Android journey began early, it truly took flight with the revolutionary Lollipop update. Since then, it's been a parade of Android devices (with a sprinkle of iOS), culminating in a mostly happy marriage with Google's smart home ecosystem. Expect insightful articles and explorations of the ever-evolving world of Android and Google products coupled with occasional rants on the Nest smart home ecosystem.
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