Google and messaging apps haven’t always been the best of friends — hell, Hangouts is only weeks away from finally dying a long-extended death — but that doesn’t mean things aren’t going well with its current fling. Despite some Apple-related setbacks paired with a massive PR campaign, Messages continues to set the Android world on fire, specifically whenever RCS is active. Now, Google is working on bringing a long-awaited feature to the app that should help tame even the most unruly group chats.
We just saw a ton of new features coming soon to Messages yesterday, including some big changes to emoji reactions. Now, Google is adding replies to the mix as it continues to play catch-up to other major messaging services. 9to5Google dug through the app’s most recent APK and managed to enable RCS replies. Replies have been around for some time on most other messaging platforms, highlighting the text you’re specifically answering with a visual indicator. iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Telegram support replies, and now it’s Google’s turn.
Messages doesn’t break the mold here, both in how you activate a reply and how it appears on-screen. Starting a reply is simple: either tap and hold on the message, or swipe to the left. In either case, an arrow icon appears next to your selected text. Just type your response and hit send, and the original message will appear alongside it. Although it’s not publicly available just yet — at least for most users — 9to5Google confirmed replies could be viewed on all sides of the conversation without issue, even on phones where it wasn’t active and Google’s web app.
It’s unclear when replies or any of the features spotted yesterday might appear on Android, but Google surprises users with new enhancements all the time. We’re also not too far from the Pixel 7 launch event, so an on-stage reveal isn’t out of the question.
