Your friend who uses an Android phone may soon be able to get an accurate representation of your iMessage response. Code sleuths at 9to5Google found that Android users could receive an emoji in response to an iMessage reaction, as opposed to a textual description of the actual reaction at the end of Apple’s equation. This function has already been introduced for some users.

Currently, SMS is used as a fallback for Android users sending SMS to iMessage users. For example, if you react to your friend’s texts with a heart emoji in iMessage, your Android user will receive a separate text with the words “Loved” followed by the actual text. This makes the SMS experience clunky and awkward. Group texts get even more annoying with iMessage reactions, which results in separate lines of text explaining the reactions instead of the actual emojis appearing on the original reply.

In the latest beta Update to Google Messages, a code string with the label “ios_reaction_classification” was found in a settings menu. This is followed by “Show iPhone reactions as emoji”. In other words, an Android user could receive an emoji (instead of text describing the same thing) in response to reactions from an iOS-based device.

In the meantime, Google is trying to get its Rich Communication Services (RCS) to replace SMS. RCS has a lot more functionality than the old SMS and is used by most of the Android users. Apple has sealed its lips, however Inquiries as to whether it intends to support RCS . Additionally, the company has admitted to using iMessage to engage users in its ecosystem. Maybe Android users would also want to convert if they want to keep in touch, or in some cases Date iPhone users . This update could mean you won’t be the green text guy who ruins it for everyone else who uses iMessage group chats.

Do you think this improvement in Google Messages will make the chatting experience with your Android friends less frustrating? Let us know in the comments below.

[Via
9to5Google
]