Google Messages now has a roomier text box
In December, Google Messages introduced a fresh look for its text box, and the newest update makes it just a tad larger. As you can see, the oval-shaped text area is now a bit taller, with extra space above and below the row of buttons. It matches Google’s Material 3 style, which also recently updated the search bar in the Phone by Google app. The round voice memo button, which doubles as the send button, has grown a little bigger too.
The layout of the buttons hasn’t changed. You’ll still find the ‘plus’ menu on the left, followed by the smiley emoji shortcut and the gallery icon. When you tap the text box to bring up your keyboard, the gallery button slides away with a smooth animation—a neat little detail. This tweak is showing up in the beta version 20250224_01_RC00.
Google hasn’t pushed this updated text box to everyone yet. Throughout 2024, Google Messages tested different designs before going back to the old, tighter layout—until this beta version popped up in December. Fingers crossed, this could be the last tweak before it rolls out to all users.