Google Tests Floating Conversation Bubbles for Messages App

Google’s latest Android version brings several visual changes to the UI. In the Android 10 Beta released earlier this year, the company introduced Facebook Messenger-like chat bubbles for the stock Messages app. While the stable version of Android 10 missed out on the feature, Google might bring back with the future update. According to XDA-Developers, the new Bubbles API will be replacing the overlay API in the near future.

As of now, the Android 10 users can manually enable this new feature by going to Settings > Developer Options and then enabling the bubbles option. When the bubbles option is enabled, all the incoming messages will appear in a bubble. The bubble will be placed on the edge of the display with the profile picture of the respective contact and app icon. The preview will also appear on the screen and the user can tap on it to reply without the need of opening the Messages app.

The user can move this bubble to any corner on the screen. Just like Facebook Messenger, it can be dragged to the bottom of the display to dismiss the bubble. In case if you find it annoying, there will be an option to disable the chat bubble. We expect this new feature to be offered by default with the upcoming Android 11 update. Google is said to be recommending the developers to start testing the new Bubbles API.

While there is no ETA, the Android 11 Beta is expected to be released by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Recently, Google enabled RCS on the Messages app for making it work like iMessage on Apple iOS. Stay tuned on Phone Radar for more details!

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