Google Messages has been on a tear lately when it comes to new features, which makes a lot of sense considering Samsung shut down its own Messages app on July 6, 2026. Clearly, there are some big shoes to fill here, so Google has now been polishing this thing up pretty quickly. While plenty of these tweaks are small on their own, they do add up together to create a much more cohesive and feature-rich messaging experience.
Some of them change how your chats actually look. One of them, called Chat theme, is a new customization tool that's been trickling out to beta testers over the past couple of months. Android Authority spotted it tucked inside a late-May build, though as of writing, it hasn't reached us yet. This one's pretty comprehensive and lets you change the entire color scheme of the chat — background, bubbles, and all. You can even slap a new wallpaper on, which you can pull out of your own gallery or borrow from Google's ready-made sets. The catch is that only you ever see the changes. Still, it's a much-needed addition considering Samsung Messages has had its own for ages, as does Apple's Messages. The ability to personalize the visual environment of a conversation has become a staple of modern messaging apps, and Google is finally catching up. Users have long requested this feature, especially those coming from Samsung's ecosystem who were accustomed to customizing their chat backgrounds. The implementation is straightforward: tap on the three-dot menu in a conversation, select "Chat theme," and choose from a palette of colors or upload an image. While the change is only visible to you, it adds a layer of personal expression that many find essential.
The second major feature is more cross-platform, geared towards making chats with iPhone users more interactive. Despite past updates, RCS chats between Android and iOS still don't provide the same experience as they would when they're on the same platform, so these upgrades are a long time coming. The features first arrived with the second iOS 27 developer beta. Let's take a look at it and more.
Smoother chats with iPhone users and cleaner menus
When stable iOS 27 arrives, RCS-enabled chats between Android and iPhone will finally get quoted replies and real emoji reactions to photos. Originally, when an iPhone replied to a specific message in an RCS chat, Google Messages wouldn't show it as a true reply, since support for this didn't exist on the iOS end. However, when iOS 27 rolls out, the quoted messages would indeed show as quoted messages on the Android end. The same goes for reactions to photos, which will soon work as intended. iOS finally adding proper support for RCS, the modern texting standard that replaced SMS, is what makes both work. This is a massive step forward for cross-platform communication. For years, iPhone users could reply to specific messages or react with emojis, but those features were broken or missing when communicating with Android users via SMS/MMS. Now, with RCS fully supported on both sides, the experience becomes seamless. Quoted replies allow participants to clearly reference a previous message in a thread, reducing confusion in group chats. Emoji reactions to photos will now appear as the intended emoji instead of a clunky text description like "Laughed at an image." Google has been working closely with Apple to ensure these features work smoothly, and the early beta builds show promising results.
The toolbar that pops up when long-pressing a message is also getting a makeover. Currently, it's confined to a skinny strip that shows up at the top of the screen, which is a pain to reach one-handed. Soon, it will be replaced by a floating menu that surfaces closer to the message itself. First caught by 9to5Google in a January 2026 beta, it hasn't rolled out widely. This change is more than cosmetic; it improves ergonomics for users with larger phones or those who prefer one-handed operation. The floating menu will present options like reply, copy, forward, star, and delete in a compact circle or pill shape near the finger's press point. Users have praised this redesign in beta forums for reducing thumb strain.
The more useful change is a new gesture, where swiping left on a thread will show you when it was sent plus the encryption lock. Previously, you had to view this information by tapping individual messages separately. Now, you see the whole thing in a single swipe. To be clear, this is different from the right swipe, which lets you reply to the text. Again, this change is currently in beta and hasn't been rolled out to all as of writing. The swipe-left gesture provides a quick way to verify the timing of messages and confirm end-to-end encryption status without navigating away from the conversation list. This is particularly useful for sensitive conversations where encryption assurance is important.
Sharing on Messages gets better too
Then there are the changes around sharing. A Reddit user in early July spotted a new tweak where, when you send something to a batch of contacts, you get two buttons at the bottom. One of them lets you fire off the text to each person in their own private thread — which Messages could already do. The problem with this single option was that if you needed to send a single item to one group chat — say an invite to an event you're planning — you'd have to create that group chat beforehand. Now, a second button beside the "share individually" option labeled "Send to a group" creates a group chat with those selected contacts. This streamlines group messaging significantly. Instead of manually creating a group first, then sharing content, users can now select multiple contacts and immediately decide whether to send individually or in a group. The interface shows a preview of the selected contacts and the option to name the new group before sending.
At the same time, Messages is also getting smarter with duplicates. So if a group chat already exists with the same set of contacts you just selected, it drops the text into the existing thread instead – rather than spinning up an identical second one. For now, these changes are reportedly a limited server-side test. This intelligent deduplication prevents clutter in the conversation list. For example, if you regularly share memes with a specific group of friends and you select exactly those same friends to share a new meme, Messages will automatically suggest posting to the existing group thread rather than creating a new one. Users can still override this behavior if they prefer a separate thread for a different topic.
Forwarding is also getting some love. Android Authority dug this out of a beta teardown around the same stretch in early July. Soon, you will be able to forward several messages at once instead of one at a time. You will tick the ones you want (images included), choose where they go, and see a preview of the batch before sending. This cuts out the busywork since forwarding more than a couple of things currently means repeating the whole process for each one. The multi-select forward interface resembles the photo picker in Google Photos: a grid of messages with checkboxes, a preview carousel at the bottom, and a send button. Users can also rearrange the order of forwarded messages before sending. This is especially beneficial for sharing multi-step instructions, collections of photos, or important information from a long thread.
Behind these user-facing changes, Google has been updating the underlying RCS infrastructure. The company has partnered with mobile carriers worldwide to ensure RCS is enabled by default on new Android devices. The transition from SMS to RCS has been gradual, but with Apple's adoption in iOS 18 and subsequent improvements, the tipping point has been reached. Google Messages now handles over 2 billion active users monthly, and these feature updates are designed to retain that base while attracting former Samsung Messages users.
Another subtle but important change is improved spam detection. Using machine learning models trained on billions of messages, Google Messages can now identify and filter out phishing attempts, scam links, and unwanted promotional messages more accurately. Users can report spam directly from the notification or conversation list with a single tap. The spam folder has also been redesigned to show a summary of blocked messages and allow bulk deletion.
Additionally, Google is working on a unified inbox that merges SMS, RCS, and potentially third-party messaging services (like WhatsApp or Telegram) all in one place. While this feature is still in early development and not confirmed for 2026, hints have been found in the code of recent betas. The goal is to create a single hub for all communications, reducing app switching. However, this would require deep collaboration with other messaging providers, which may face privacy and competition hurdles.
For business users, Google Messages is introducing verified business profiles within chats. When you message a business that has been verified, you'll see a blue checkmark, the business logo, and official contact information. This helps prevent impersonation scams. Businesses can also send rich cards with buttons for appointments, payments, or directions, similar to WhatsApp Business. This feature is rolling out in select regions first, starting with the United States and India.
The accessibility improvements in 2026 include better screen reader support for RCS typing indicators, voice-to-text enhancements that work offline, and a new high-contrast theme for users with visual impairments. Google has also improved transcription for voice messages, now supporting multiple languages and speaker labels.
Overall, the 2026 updates to Google Messages represent a comprehensive overhaul aimed at modernizing the texting experience. From deep customization to cross-platform parity, smarter sharing, and robust security, these changes address long-standing user complaints and prepare the app for the future of communication. As the beta testing phase wraps up, users can expect these features to hit stable releases in the coming months, with the full suite available by late 2026. The era of fragmented messaging is finally coming to an end, and Google Messages is leading the charge with a polished, feature-rich platform that works seamlessly across Android and iOS.
Source: SlashGear News