Google Messages is picking up a Gmail-style navigation drawer in beta

Supply: Nick Sutrich / Android Central

Google Messages is getting a visual makeover with a Gmail-inspired navigation drawer that improves the messaging experience on Android telephones, on the very least for people who’re part of its beta program.

The brand new design began displaying inside the latest beta mannequin of Messages (messages.android_20220128_02_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic) just some days after 9to5Google found the adjustments. The equivalent web site has now noticed the attribute’s beta testing, and it brings an old-school hamburger menu, as anticipated.

The three-dot menu that was beforehand positioned inside the excessive correct nook of the app has been eradicated inside the new design. As a substitute, Messages has modified that attribute with a hamburger menu on the choice side of the app. It accommodates the equivalent vital decisions, equal to “Messages,” “Starred,” “Archived,” and “Spam & blocked.” In a separate half on the bottom of the menu, you might even see the theme and gadget pairing decisions.

Within the current mannequin of Messages, all of these decisions are positioned contained in the three-dot menu, making that half a bit crowded. For those who like Google’s earlier methodology of organizing points, the change to navigation drawer may be attention-grabbing. It’s an fascinating change seeing as Google recently eliminated this interface, most notably from the Play Retailer.

Alongside the retro navigation menu is the arrival of Google Images integration with Messages, which first popped up in November of final 12 months. This attribute lets you share motion pictures in elevated prime quality than MMS by the use of the app.

With the intention to do this, you’ll have to enroll to your Google account. It’s sensible, subsequently, for Google to interchange the three-dot menu with an account switcher inside the top-right nook to level your synced Images account.

The latest changes will be discovered solely to a restricted set of shoppers for now, nonetheless a wider rollout shouldn’t be far-off.