Google Messages gets a new text field redesign: Here's what is new

The redesign has been slowly rolling out over the recent weeks, but now looks like it is widely available today.

Google Messages has rolled out a new redesign of the text field after spending 2024 cycling through different looks.

Google will likely be sticking with this interface for the foreseeable future. (Reuters)

As a result, the pill-shaped text field is now aligned to the left and is also slightly taller with more padding above and below, according to 9to5Google.

However, the ‘plus’ icon remains at the very left, but everything else has moved.

The icon remaining in the left was not the case in the originally attempted redesign, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the “RCS” or the “Text message” status appears next with the smiley/expressive picker which includes Photomojis, Emojis, GIFs, and Stickers, with gallery rounding out the container.

The Voice memo appears outside the field, with the circle turning into the send button once the user has written something, according to the report.

The field is less cramped and looks a bit more modern when compared to the last design, according to the report which added that one thing which the old look had going for it better was how it aligned with the sent messages appearing on the right side.

Despite this, Google will likely be sticking with this interface for the foreseeable future, according to the report.

The redesign has been slowly rolling out over the recent weeks, but now looks like it is widely available today as of Google Messages version 20250311_04_RC01.

Apart from this, Google has also created a feature wherein sending texts consisting of two same emojis result in users getting a Screen Effects response which takes up the entire display.

The Screen Effects feature was originally introduced with 15+ animations by typing in one of those associated trigger phrases in Rich Communication Services (RCS) chats.