- Three possible changes have been detected in Google Messages in the beta code
- These include a larger icon for Google Gemini and new text for location sharing.
- There is also a new “Open” option when saving media.
Google Messages is already a competent messaging app, but it could soon receive three changes that could improve it in small but useful ways.
We learned about this from Android Authority, which spotted these changes in the code of a recent beta release. None of these tweaks are live yet, but their presence in the code suggests they could be available soon.
First, there’s a change to what happens when you save a shared media file, like a photo. Right now, when you save it, you’ll see a pop-up message to confirm that it’s been saved, but that message may soon get a tappable “Open” option, which will then allow you to open the file.
This could be a niche addition, since you’ll already be viewing whatever file it is, but opening it in another app could ensure that it has actually been saved. You can see how this would look and work in the video below.
Look
Gemini and location sharing
Next up, there’s a possible change to Gemini, with the Gemini launch icon potentially set to get much bigger.
Right now, it’s a small floating icon in the bottom right corner of the screen, and its position will apparently remain the same after the change, it just won’t be as small. It’s unclear why Google would do this, but perhaps the company hopes this will make people more likely to use Gemini. And for those who already use it a lot, a larger button might be easier to touch, so it could be seen as a slight improvement.
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Finally, Google could change the text of the location sharing option. Right now, if you press the plus sign to the left of the text input box, one of the options you’ll see will be labeled “Location,” but Android Authority discovered that this could be changed to “Single Location.”
Presumably this is to make it clearer that this will share only your current location, rather than your current location. But to confuse things, the site also discovered that in the code the option will be described as ‘enable_live_location_sharing_extension’, with the ‘live’ in there, making it sound more like a continuous thing. Therefore, it is not clear if there will be more changes than the text.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that any of these changes will actually materialize, as Google is just testing them at this point. But if they do launch, we hope they do so soon.
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