Google may soon be launching a service similar to iMessage and WhatsApp.
Code in the latest version of Android Messages, Google’s SMS app, seems to point at two new features, including one that would allow users to send text messages from multiple computers.
The code also suggests Google may be planning to offer its own features to work with RCS messaging – which gives SMS additional features such as higher resolution images, read receipts, and typing indicators – just like iMessage.
Code in the latest version of Android Messages, Google’s SMS app, seems to point at two new features, one of which may allow users to send text messages from their computer. Pictured are images from the current version of the Android Messages app, which allows users only on supported carriers to send messages over Wi-Fi and their data network
The code, analysed by Android Police, shows that Google may be getting ready to launch a web interface that would allow users to pair their phones to a computer to send texts, just like with WhatsApp and iMessage.
While Google already has a similar system called Allo, which allows users to send messages from their desktop, not many people were able to take advantage of it because not many people use Allo.
If the new Android Messages feature is implemented, ‘Android Messages will share the same basic setup procedure with Allo,’ according to software engineer and writer Cody Tombs.
‘You’ll be guided to visit a website on the computer you want to pair with your phone, then simply scan a QR code.
‘Once that’s done, you’ll be able to send and receive messages in the web interface and it will link with the phone to do the actual SMS/MMS/RCS(?) communication through your carrier.
‘Just like Allo, you’ll be able to see a list of signed in computers and disconnect from one or all of them at any time.’
Tombs notes that the code refers to multiple computers, so users should be able to pair both a laptop and desktop.
He also notes that all mainstream browsers may be supported, as they are all named in the code – including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera.
It would be advantageous for Android to introduce a text-from-computer feature as the operating system is dominant worldwide
The code also indicates that users will have a new notification channel and receive a notification when their phone is paired with a desktop.
The second feature could involve RCS, which stands for Rich Communication Services and aims to replace SMS with additional features.
However, RCS’s adoption depends on network carriers using it and making it compatible, which is why it isn’t prevalent.
Android Police found code for a pop-up messaged that reads ‘New! Text over Wi-Fi and data,’ which is a description of RCS.
It’s possible that nothing will actually come of the code, or that the feature will only be available with Google’s own network carrier, Project Fi.
Or, Google may be creating a messaging app that can do the same as iMessage and WhatsApp and essentially replace SMS.
It is not yet certain when, if ever, Android Messages will be rolling out the new messaging feature.
However, it would be advantageous for Android to introduce such a feature given the operating system’s worldwide dominance.
HOW HAVE ALPHABET’S FORTUNES CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is an American multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mountain View, California.
The company, incorporated on July 23, 2015, is a holding company.
The company’s segments include Google Inc. and its ‘Other Bets’, including Access, Calico, CapitalC, GV, Nest, Verily – a life sciences research organisation, self-driving car-hailing service Waymo, Nest products and services (a smart thermostat firm) and X, a ‘moonshot’ company aimed at launching technologies to ‘make the world a radically better place.’
On July 8, 2015, Google’s stock prices were priced at $541.7.
But in the lead up to the formation of Alphabet, stock prices surged to $699.62 on July 17, 2015 – an increase of 28.45%.
Logo with signage in front of Building 44, which houses employees working on the Android mobile phone operating system, at the Googleplex, headquarters of Google Inc in the Silicon Valley town of Mountain View, California
From July 9, 2015 to January 30, 2018, Alphabet’s stock prices rose by 116%.
Alphabet’s current stock price is $1,181.59, although the tech giant’s shares slid 2.3% in after-hours trade on February 1, 2018 following Alphabet’s reported loss of $3 billion (£2.1bn) for the fourth quarter of 2017, as it set aside $11 billion for taxes – an estimated $9.9 billion (£6.9bn) was for taxes on repatriated earnings.
The vast majority of Alphabet’s revenue continues to come from Google and its various business, most notably its advertising network – revenue from Google’s ad business grew by 21 per cent from last year and accounts for 84 per cent of Alphabet’s total revenue.
However, the company’s so-called Other Bets saw revenues rise from $262 million (£183m) last year to $409 million (£286m) in the last quarter.
Source: MacroTrends.net