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Google Messages is getting a Samsung OneUI-based redesign on some devices. That’s thanks to a recently announced partnership that put the former app as a default on the Galaxy S21 series. Now, at least one XDA Developers contributor has come forward to show what that might look like in action.
As shown by Tushar Mehta, and in the image below, the newly reworked app looks right at home on his Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. That’s the Exynos variant of the handset, for clarity. And it may be some time before this appears in every region on every variant.
What does this Samsung OneUI redesign of Google Messages look like?
As might be expected, Google Messages, on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in question, fits right in with all of the other stock Samsung apps.
That’s because it does away with the filled-screen UI that’s typically found on the world-class text and RCS messaging app. Instead, in the screenshots, only the lower two-thirds of the screen shows the list of previously sent or received messages. Those are still shown in a list format. But the top segment of the screen now simply shows the app title “Messages” and, below that, how many unread messages are there.
The interactive portions of the app — namely, the message search and three-dot overflow menu — sit just above the center. That means that, like other OneUI apps, they’re within easy thumbs reach. Making it more convenient than ever to use the app one-handed. And that’s a good thing since Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra measures a whopping 6.8-inches diagonally.
Other segments of the app, such as the in-message UI, haven’t been shown as of this writing. But, presumably, those haven’t been changed too much. Especially since the majority of interactive elements housed there are already at or near the bottom of the UI.
When will your Galaxy see this change?
For the time being, Samsung and Google haven’t detailed exactly when users will see the new Samsung OneUI redesign of the Google Messages app on their Galaxy phones. The XDA member in question noted that his Samsung handset is running the latest firmware with Google Messages version 7.9.051. But others have seen the updated UI in other versions of the app. So it’s likely that this is a server-side change rather than one that requires an update.
It’s also not clear whether the Exynos variant of the phone is needed or what other factors are at play. But, at the very least, this does mean that more users should start seeing this on more devices in the near future.
