Google’s Android Messages Finally Arrives on Desktops

Google has finally announced that its standalone messaging app Android Messages will make it to the Web soon. The Android Messages client for desktop has been officially released and it is expected to roll out globally by next week. This will allow the Android Messages users to communicate by exchanging SMS and RCS (Rich Communication Services) via a PC. The new Android Messages Web client is Google’s answer to WhatsApp that allows accessing the chats on PC via WhatsApp Web; and iMessage that is seamlessly available on both iPhone and Macs.

The Android Messages app support for RCS is a part of the initiative taken by Google, along with partnering companies, to overhaul the way we send SMS today. In April, Google said that it is diverting its focus from Allo to an RCS-based ‘Chat’ platform to develop a stout contender to Apple’s iMessage. The idea has now come to fruition as Android Messages will make it possible for the users to send images, clips, stickers, videos, and other rich content over SMS using a PC.

While the Android Messages is not available yet for the PC, it is expected to bear an on-off setting that can be initiated from within the app. Google says that the user needs to have the latest version of Android Messages before they become eligible to receive the desktop support. The PC version has two themes – Light and Dark – for different times of the day. Much like what it’s with WhatsApp Web, the connection between the phone’s app and desktop version can be established by scanning a QR code.

Google, in its support page for Android Messages, has detailed that all the conversation threads, contacts, and other settings will be encrypted and cached on the browser, before being flushed out after 14 days of inactivity. The supported browsers as of now are Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari. – Financial Express