{"id":247556,"date":"2026-05-16T16:38:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T20:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/what-new-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-may-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T12:50:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:50:23","slug":"what-new-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/16\/what-new-google-messages-features-are-rolling-out-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"What new Google Messages features are rolling out [May 2026]"},"content":{"rendered":"

What new Google Messages features are rolling out [May 2026]<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2026\/05\/16\/new-google-messages-features\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-16 16:38:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: 9to5google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Like other Google apps, Messages for Android A\/B tests many features. It can take the RCS\/SMS client a rather long time to actually launch new functionality in stable. From various reports, Google announcements, and devices we\u2019ve checked, this is the current state of Messages.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Update 5\/16<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Still rolling out (beta)<\/h2>\n

These are Messages features that Google announced or have been spotted in the wild by beta users.<\/p>\n

[New] Read receipts redesign II<\/h3>\n

In recent weeks, Google Messages has mostly reverted to the two-circle read receipts underneath the message design after trying a single circle within the bubble.<\/p>\n

\tAdvertisement – scroll for more content<\/span><\/p>\n

Google is now testing a variant that uses the old icons but moves the timestamp and encryption lock. You now view that information by swiping left, with direct replies accessed by a right swipe.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n

Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July<\/h3>\n

In the US, Samsung is having users switch to Google Messages. On Android 14+, Google\u2019s RCS app will \u201cautomatically shift\u201d to your homescreen dock after the move.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Messages for web removing QR code pairing<\/h3>\n

Going forward, Messages for web users will have to use Google Account sign-in. As of late April, the QR code method is still available.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tap to Draft<\/h3>\n

This new option cuts down on accidentally sending Smart Replies. After enabling in Settings Suggestions, tapping a Smart Reply will place it in the text field to allow for further edits before you manually tap the Send button.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n

Read receipts redesign I<\/h3>\n

Read receipts are now placed in a circle at the bottom-right corner of message bubbles and images. You swipe left to see timestamps and the encryption lock, while you can swipe right to reply. This first started appearing in August of 2024, but is now seeing wide beta and stable availability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ellipsis<\/td>\nSending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Single…<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What new Google Messages features are rolling out [May 2026] https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2026\/05\/16\/new-google-messages-features\/ Publish Date: 2026-05-16 16:38:00…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/9to5google.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/03\/google-messages-logo-circle-2.jpg?resize=1200%2C628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[70,86],"class_list":["post-247556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-android","tag-google","tag-samsung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247558,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247556\/revisions\/247558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}