Key Takeaways
- Google Messages is testing a minor redesign of the text field indicator, renaming it to (RCS) for RCS conversations and (Text) for standard SMS/MMS.
- This visual change aims to make the text field more concise by removing the word “message,” although the parentheses look out of place.
- Only a few users have seen this updated RCS and SMS indicator in the text field, indicating that this is part of a small experiment.
As the default messaging app on most Android phones you’ll find today, Google Messages has all the bases covered. While we’ve seen some key feature additions recently, the messaging app also introduces smaller changes from time to time, as we saw recently with the updated send button. It now looks like the Messages team is testing another minor visual change, specifically affecting the text field in chats.
Google Messages currently displays a couple of variations of the text field — one that says RCS message and another that says Text message, a clear indicator for users to know whether it’s a secure RCS conversation or a conventional text. However, the Messages team is seemingly testing a minor redesign of the text field, as one Reddit user found out (via 9to5Google).
As you can see below, the updated text field indicator reads (RCS), indicating an RCS conversation. A standard text conversation, in this case, could be denoted by (Text), thus saving a bit of space in the text field. As one user points out in the comments to the Reddit post, this could be a server-side change. Meanwhile, at least one more user in the thread reports seeing this updated text field, suggesting this is part of a broader test.
What’s with the parentheses?
Current text field for RCS chats vs Updated RCS text field indicator with parentheses
Making the text field more concise by slashing the word message, which many would argue is redundant in this context, is good thinking. But as 9to5Google points out, the parentheses look slightly out of place here, particularly since they didn’t exist in the prior version. This leads us to believe that the Messages team is still testing this updated phrasing in the text field, with the final iteration of this change hopefully doing away with the parentheses.
Surprisingly, this isn’t the first text field-related change in Google Messages this year. In May, the app ditched its irritating multi-line text field in favor of a regular and more aesthetically pleasing single-line text field. As for future updates, Google Messages could be prepping a couple of handy inclusions, with dual SIM RCS support being on the cards, plus the ability to search for group chats within the chat app’s New conversation page.