Selfie GIFs are the new addition to Google Messages

In December 2023, Google launched the December Pixel Feature Drop, which introduced a series of new features for Pixel smartphones. These are, for example, Video Boost for the Pixel 8 Pro and Night Sight Timelapse for other Pixel devices. It appears, however, that Google may have left out an unannounced new feature that would allow users to create GIFs from Google Messages selfies.

Selfie GIFs are the new addition to Google Messages

According to AssembleDebug on TheSpAndroid, a recent version of Google Messages hides this Selfies function in GIF format. After activating the flag, the function can be activated by long pressing the camera attachment icon located next to the text field.

When the feature is activated, a new user interface appears with a circular camera frame. At this point, you will have the option of using the front or rear cameras to record a four-second video that can be sent as a GIF to the recipient. There also appears to be a Reset button in case you mess up and want to try again.

In the images above, you can see the functionality in action. Notice that the user interface appears to be slightly out of frame. AssembleDebug says this is a bug caused by using a custom ROM.

However, there is another new feature

RCS has been around for over a decade, having been adopted by the GSMA in 2008. However, it took a long time for the new messaging standard to become widespread, with Google Messages playing an important role. Initially, there were many exceptions, with RCS only working on some operators and in some countries. These problems were resolved quickly. However, one thing was still missing: seamless support for switching between different SIM cards. Google has now added the functionality and it is already working for some users. So RCS in Google Messages now supports dual-sim!

RCS in Google Messages now supports Dual-sim!

As revealed by the expert @AssembleDebug in X (formerly Twitter) and on its Telegram channel, new strings appeared in the latest beta version of Google Messages. The strings suggest that Google is working on dual SIM support when using RCS, with a simple button that allows you to choose which SIM to send messages in real time. This is similar to how it already works with SMS.

Using the instructions provided by AssembleDebug, someone else was able to enable this function for RCS messages in the application. The screenshots show that, below the normal button to activate RCS, you can now activate or deactivate either of the two SIM cards you have in your device. smartphones. In an RCS conversation, there are also buttons and markers that allow you to distinguish between the two SIM cards.

In the bottom right corner of the conversation box, there is a button that allows you to see which SIM card was used to send the message in question. We assume that tapping this button allows you to quickly change cards. The messages themselves arrive with a small label with the operator’s name, in two different colors that make them easy to distinguish. Although the conversation with either SIM card is integrated into a single conversation for the sender, it is not clear whether the same will happen for the recipients. It probably depends on how they saved your contact’s phone number.

In the past, RCS did not work on many dual SIM phones, even if they only had one SIM. However, throughout 2018 and 2019, Google slowly activated RCS on phones with dual SIM support. However, even with RCS usable, it was not easy to switch between SIM cards at that time.