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It seems like Google Messages will get a side navigation menu soon. 9to5Google shared the news, based on an app teardown. This will essentially be the so-called ‘hamburger menu’ that all of us are familiar with.
Google Messages may get a side navigation menu soon
It will function as a hamburger menu in other apps. You’ll be able to tap on the three horizontal lines in the top-left corner, or swipe from the left, but upwards, not to trigger the back gesture, if you use gestures.
In that menu, as you can see below, you’ll be able to access your starred messages, archived ones, check spam and blocked messages, and more. The theme settings are also included, as are device pairing options. You’ll also be able to mark all messages as “read” from this menu.
This is quite odd, though. Why? Well, Google has moved away from “hamburger” menus and side panels in general. So, why this change? Google could have fitted these options at the bottom, or something of the sort.
Well, the company is probably planning to add more options as time goes by. That would, kind of, explain the addition of this menu. Though Google is kind of backtracking on what it has been doing design-wise with this move, as it has been moving away from side menus for quite some time now.
Google can’t seem to decide whether to keep or get rid of the hamburger menu
On the flip side, quite a few of its apps still have the side menu. That goes for Gmail, Google Keep, and some other apps. Google pushed Google Play Store and some other apps away from the side menu, so… you can see how it gets confusing.
The company will hopefully offer an explanation of some sort of this. Though, truth be said, side menus did make sense. Having them in every app would make things a lot easier for users, as they’d know exactly when to find some extra options / features. Perhaps Google plans on bringing this to more apps, who knows.