Google Messages experiments with a new way to highlight unread chats

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Unread points may come soon

Notification badges, or dots, have long been a feature of Android home screens, allowing you to easily see which apps have new things to interact with. In fact, most operating systems have a version of it, sometimes with built-in unread counts, as is the case with iOS. A new test found as part of Google Messages appears to show that the Mountain View company is looking to add a similar unread spot within the app to better highlight chats that need your attention.

Our tipster Nick Cipriani found these new spots in two separate versions of Google Messages, with the former appearing much bolder (at least in dark mode), with a more saturated blue color. In the most recent beta – 10.6.240 (10.6.240_RC00.phone.openbeta_dynamic) – the dot has been adjusted to a softer shade of blue, but still appears in the same spot, to the right of the date / timestamp of each unread chat in your message inbox. It appears to be a server-side change that extends to a very limited number of people, since I can’t get it to appear on any of my devices. If you want to check for yourself, download the latest beta from APK Mirror.

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Until now, Google has preferred to show unread messages exclusively in bold text, just like it does with unopened Gmail threads. However, dots or badges are common in many other messaging apps, including WhatsApp and Apple Mail, as well as tons of other email clients, so it’s not exactly an original feature that Google is playing around with. Whether or not we’ll see this launch more broadly is a guess, as Google tests many different UI tweaks with varying success rates. Not sure if that’s really super necessary, but if you use Messages a lot, you might be happy to see an easier-to-see indicator next to unread chats you neglected to open, let alone reply.

For more information on Google Messages, check out the latest news on its makeover material or read about an upcoming feature that could lead to better video sharing.

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About the author Scott Scrivens (1415 articles published)

Senior UK Editor – My interest in Android started with the beautiful Nexus 4 and the less ugly Jelly Bean. Right now, I’m probably watching Black Books, playing soccer (soccer), or hearing the response code request.

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