Along with Photos integration for avoiding MMS
Google spent the bulk of last year overhauling the design of both Android and all of its associated apps, and for the most part, it’s been a success. Material You brings simplified menus and straightforward methods for accessing all the tools and options in an app while adding splashes of colors pulled directly from your wallpaper. Messages got its own redesign last fall, but it seems like Google is bringing a throwback design to one of its many, many messaging services.
The folks at 9to5Google dug through a recent Messages APK and spotted signs of an upcoming navigation drawer planned for the app. Unlike the current layout, this change adds a profile icon where the current menu button appears, with a hamburger icon off to the left. That menu opens up a sliding drawer with options for starred, archived, and spam messages, along with essential tools like device pairing and dark theme. The rest of the settings are found under the profile menu, similar to what we’ve seen in the latest Play Store redesign.
It’s an odd choice, especially since most of Google’s apps ditched the navigation drawer years ago. You’ll still find it in a handful of services, but generally speaking, pop-up profile menus and bottom navigation bars have been the future. Older versions of Messages — then called Messenger or Android Messages — never even utilized a navigation drawer layout. Switching back to an outdated design on an app that doesn’t need it is certainly an odd move.
It’s possible this UI is changed before a final rollout — after all, it’s still buried in an APK right now. Still, if you were hoping Google Messages would stick to a single look following last year’s redesign, you might want to avoid holding your breath.
There’s some good news in this APK teardown, thankfully. 9to5Google also spotted a new look at how Google Photos will integrate directly into Messages for sharing videos. A new prompt will appear in your gallery once the feature is live, and according to toggles buried in the settings menu, it’ll also work with photos. There’s no word yet on when this feature might launch, though it seems like development is active and steady.
UPDATE: 2022/02/05 09:14 EST BY RAJESH PANDEY
Now available for some users
Both the navigation drawer and Photos integration have started popping up for some users on the Messages app beta channel. As detailed before, the hamburger menu provides quick access to Starred, Archived, and Spam messages. You can also quickly jump into the Device pairing menu, change the app theme, bulk delete texts, or mark all as read. It is odd to see Google adding a navigation drawer to an app that never had one, though it does make it easy to jump between different message categories.
Additionally, the latest Messages beta adds Google Photos integration, allowing you to “share videos as they’re meant to be seen” (via 9to5Google). The feature was first spotted in testing in November last year. Once you log in to your Google account, you’ll be able to share photos and videos using Google Photos links where the quality will be notably higher than MMS. The media is first uploaded to Photos, with the app showing an approximate size before starting the upload process. The profile avatar in the top-right corner will signify your synced Google Photos account.
These features might not show up in the Messages app, even if you are on the latest beta. However, it’s clear that Google is actively working on both, and a broader rollout for beta users should be in the cards.
Thanks: Armando
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