Google Messages is addressing a big complaint of the combined gallery and camera redesign by letting users access each separately.
In June, Google Messages widely rolled out a new interface that combined the camera and gallery. Tapping the button at the right of the text field showed a viewfinder at the top and grid underneath. Some people did not want to activate their camera every time they went to attach an image. (One workaround was disabling the camera in the app.)
Google has now heard the feedback and is beginning to offer a way to access each independently. Tapping the ‘plus’ menu at the right shows a new standalone “Camera” option in the grid. “Gallery,” which gets an updated camera-less icon, just opens the photo picker.
They appear as the first two options alongside GIFs, Stickers, Magic Compose, Files, Location, Contacts, Schedule Send, and Selfie GIF for a total of 10 items in the menu.
The one report we have of this change, which is happening on top of the Material 3 Expressive redesign, notes how the icon in the text field still launches the combined interface, with Google presumably keeping that unchanged as the default. The new option adds an extra step, but it does address the primary complaint.
As of today, we’re not seeing this widely rolled out on devices running the latest Google Messages beta.
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