Google Messages Tests Homepage Redesign With Big Pinned Chat Avatars

Google is testing a reworked home screen for Google Messages on Android that puts pinned conversations in a row of large contact photos above every other chat, according to 9to5Google. The same test moves search to a floating button at the bottom of the screen and turns the Gemini shortcut into a small button in the top-right corner.

The changes are showing up for some people in the beta channel. Google has not rolled them out widely, even among testers, and 9to5Google reports that the pieces seem to be arriving one at a time, so some beta users see all three changes and others see one or none.

Pinned chats move into a row of large photos

Pinned chats in the current app sit at the top of the regular conversation list and look like every other thread. In the redesign they get their own space. Google uses the background layer behind the list, which today holds only the Messages logo, the search bar and the account menu, and fills it with big contact photos for each pinned conversation.

That pushes the rest of your conversations further down the screen. It also drops information you can see today: the large avatars do not show a preview of the last message or when it was sent. 9to5Google compares the layout to iMessage on the iPhone, which handles pinned chats in a similar way and has the same drawback.

Not everyone likes it. A top commenter on the 9to5Google report said he prefers being able to see snippets of messages and called the bubble look a copy of Apple’s design.

Search becomes a floating button at the bottom

The second change targets one-handed use. Search moves out of the top bar and into a floating action button, the round or pill-shaped control that hovers over the bottom of an Android app, placed next to the existing button for starting a new chat.

The two buttons change as you move through the list. While you scroll down, the pill reads “Search” and the new chat button shrinks. When you stop, a round magnifying glass icon appears alongside a pill labeled “Start chat.” 9to5Google describes the animation between the two states as smooth and lively, and says it makes the app easier to use with one hand because the controls sit within reach of your thumb.

Gemini shortcut shrinks to a corner icon

Google Messages currently shows Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, as its own floating button. In the test build that button is gone. A smaller Gemini button now sits in the top-right corner beside your profile picture.

The placement copies the layout Google already uses in its Workspace apps, such as Gmail and Docs, on desktop and phones. Gemini stays one tap away, but it no longer takes space near the bottom of the screen, which the redesign gives to search and new chats.

What it means for Messages users

For most people nothing changes yet. The redesign is limited to a share of beta testers, and Google has not said whether it will ship all three changes, some of them or none in the stable app. Features tested this way sometimes change before a full release.

If the pinned chat layout does ship, people who pin many conversations will see fewer regular threads on the first screen and will lose the message preview for pinned contacts. People who use their phone with one hand get search and new chat closer to their thumb, and Gemini users will need to reach the top of the screen instead of the bottom.

The test is the latest in a run of changes to Google’s communication apps. Google is also rolling out gradient icon redesigns for Contacts, Messages and Phone, an Enhanced Protection mode in Messages against spam and scams, and a new long-press menu that lets you copy only part of a message.

How to try it

Only the beta version of Google Messages can show the redesign, and joining the beta does not guarantee it, since Google is enabling the changes for testers gradually. Users who leave the beta get the stable app back, with the current layout.

Source: 9to5Google