Google updates Messenger app with Material Design language; adds features

It"s a confusing world out there, and made all the more confusing when we"re not entirely sure of Google"s motives surrounding the company"s communications apps; due in part to the recent hint that Hangouts would be the unified communications service back in September with the forced integration of Google Voice, which was subsequently discontinued as a standalone service.

Google has now released an update for Google Messenger on Android, that brings the Material Design language to it, as well as a few new features; which also means that the standalone app probably isn"t going away anytime soon.

Full changelog:

• Faster sharing: Select or take pictures and videos directly from the app and share easily. You can even send audio messages to your contacts.
• Easy search: Search through contacts and conversation threads to find exactly what you are looking for.
• Purposeful design: New, fluid, material design that is intuitive and delightful.
• More control: Ability to block SMS senders. No interruptions when you don’t want them!
• More features: audio messages, emoji support, colored text threads, message archiving and more.

As noted above, the new features include the ability to block people, rapid photo sharing, full emoji support and more. That"s if you are running Android 4.1 or higher, which is required, but don"t worry, even the oldest supported devices will still sport the Material Design language, which does look pretty good in our opinion.

Source: Google Play via The Next Web