Google chat: Android Gets a Taste of Apple’s iMessage Feature.

If you’re trying to catch up with friends, make a simple plan with family, the go-to place is the text msg feature on your device as seen on iPhones. You can exchange text messages, pictures, videos, WiFi messaging, etc

Android users have been missing out on the iMessage feature in iPhones but we have good news!! Android is finally catching up. Google has announced that the feature is now available globally, with the bonus rollout of testing end-to-end encrypted messaging for one-on-one messaging.

The RCS Messaging as it’s called but more commonly referred to as Chat is the answer to the long-awaited iMessage feature for Androids. To access this feature, you have to use Google's Messages app and the text message app on your device. 

If you're not using it now, you're missing out. Most of the most popular iMessage features are integrated into Google Chat, which itself is baked into Google's Messages app, including the ability to send and receive messages from your computer. 

Let us take a look at how to get started:

Firstly, you should use the Messages app and make sure it's the default messaging app (while other apps will support it, Google's approach means you need to use its own app). RCS is something that you have to opt into. The first time you launch messages, it will ask you to set as your default app, simply follow the prompts. You'll have to agree to Google's terms and conditions. Any costs will be part of your data plan.

After installing and making the Google messaging app your default messaging app, you would skid over to the settings section in messages and enable Chat.

Below, is an easy way to go about this.

Image 1: Open the app and hit the menu in the top right-hand corner.

Image 2: Select settings Select Chat features

Image 3: Chat features will tell you if you have support or not, and if it's enabled

Image 4: Turn on all the google chat features

Once all chat features are turned on, the Messages app will continue to work, the app knows when you're talking to someone through text or another contact with chat turned on. This simply means you can only enjoy this service with contacts who have enabled the Chat app on their devices.

A simple trick to know if your text partner is conversing with the app is when you look at the reply box and it says Chat message instead of a Text message. See image 5

Image 5

With this new update, is it safe to say andriod users are really missing nothing from using the iPhone? Remember to share this information with friends and family so you can all enable the Chat App and enjoy the free data sharing!