Smartphones are an essential aspect of our lives, and that includes a slew of important apps we all use daily. But there’s one app in particular we all probably use the most, and Google’s slowly but surely ruining it. Of course, I’m talking about Google Messages, which I have a love-hate relationship with, and here’s why.
Constant changes aren’t always a good thing
Throughout 2025, Google Messages received numerous updates and changes, and most were excellent. The app is more capable than ever before. We have new customization options, enhanced group chats, sensitive content warnings, and RCS communications that work seamlessly with iOS. That’s on top of a revamped design thanks to Material 3 Expressive, and much more.
For those paying attention, Google Messages has received constant updates and changes over the last year or two. And while I appreciate all the development, I sometimes feel that the endless changes go too far. Google Messages is constantly evolving its look, feel, and interaction with images, as well as the icons for sharing media and other minor tweaks.
Most of the year, I ran the Google Messages beta, which means I get new features before they arrive on the stable channel. Eventually, the endless changes and occasional bugs became frustrating, so I left the beta program.
However, that didn’t help, as Google’s onslaught of design tweaks, new features, AI implementations, and other modifications continued. All the media controls and how we take or share photos changed over the summer, then got reversed a few months later. Media controls inside Google Messages changed again in October, and twice in December after user complaints.
I can barely keep track of all the “improvements,” new features, or changes, and I’m not the only one. For years, Google Messages was clean, simple, and worked great. In its never-ending quest to be the best messaging app and compete with iMessage, it has become a cluttered mess.
We all send and receive text messages daily, which is why messaging apps are so important. However, when I’m unsure of what to expect or if something will change, disappear, or evolve, it’s a bit unsettling. I want to quickly send a picture to a family member, not fumble through the app weekly to find the best (or new) way to complete a task.
AI is getting in the way
Artificial intelligence is exciting. We know. However, Google is slowly but surely pushing its AI models, including Gemini and Nano Banana, into everything. AI is supposed to be this smart, helpful new technology that’s available when we want it, if it even works to begin with, but it shouldn’t get in the way.
I’m not sure if you’ve seen, but Google’s “Nano Banana” AI is all over Google Messages. Have you noticed the weird banana peel logo on every incoming or outgoing picture message lately? That’s Google’s generative AI model, and it wants to transform your photos into AI creations.
I’ve used the built-in Google Messages AI tools once or twice, and while they’re cool, they shouldn’t be shoved in our faces and make the entire experience worse as a result. It’s neat that I can quickly “remix” a photo before sharing it with friends or family, but no, Google, I don’t want to remix every photo I get in a text message.
Google has revamped the entire interface and experience for sending and receiving media in Messages several times, and the latest few are all about shoving AI everywhere.
Remember when you could tap on a photo or video in Messages and see it full screen? That’s no longer easy. Now, tap on it, which blurs the background and displays emoji controls and the AI remix banana button. You then have to tap again to view it full screen. And, sure, it’s a bit easier to scroll through all shared media in a conversation, and the UI looks a little better. However, the latest implementation is choppy, laggy, and zooming rarely works; it’s just a jumbled mess.
Google Messages has now integrated features such as chat with Gemini, Magic Compose, AI summaries, AI photo editing (remix), smart reply, smart suggestions, and others. As I said earlier, what was once a clean and simple experience is now trying to do too much, and it’s worse for it.
One step forward, two steps back
When I reflect on all the changes to Google Messages over the years, I can’t help but think that at every turn, it’s one step forward and two steps back.
A prime example of this is RCS, which has replaced SMS and promises to deliver rich communications similar to iMessage—encryption, read receipts, typing indicators, and high-quality photo/video sharing across all devices. The arrival of RCS was a big deal, and getting Apple on board in late 2024 was huge. However, RCS has become a walled garden just like iMessage. What makes Android great is its open-source nature, allowing the use of third-party apps and endless choices. If you want to use RCS and have an actual conversation with an iPhone that doesn’t feel like you’re communicating in 2010, you have to use Google Messages.
RCS support is a mess, and there’s a lot of blame to go around for that. Carriers support it, sure, and Samsung Messages had it for a while. Eventually, Samsung ditched the feature in the U.S. and told users to switch to Google Messages. My favorite text app for Android is Textra SMS, but it doesn’t support RCS. In today’s day and age, at least in the U.S., I want to be able to communicate fully with everyone, and that means I’m stuck with Google Messages.
And sure, while RCS is an open standard, almost all third-party apps lack the necessary server access and carrier agreements, or can’t afford it, forcing them to wait for open APIs or rely on Google’s Jibe system. And that’s not coming to third-party apps anytime soon.
Google has turned Messages into its version of iMessage, and we’re stuck using it. Google upgraded the media sharing controls in Messages to be more intuitive and modern, but then made it convoluted and packed with AI. Messages got an excellent spam blocking feature, but then it was removed a month later. Messages and RCS promised HD media sharing, but still struggle with compression, ruining the quality of your photos and videos. See what I’m saying?
I want to love Google Messages, and it has a ton of awesome features everyone should know about. Unfortunately, Google has lost sight of simplicity and user experience in favor of locking users in with RCS and trying to make us reliant on AI.