Google is making profound changes to its mobile applications in recent months, although the one we are dealing with now has to do with the decision to move all its messaging apps under the same roof. Something that has allowed, for example, to finally have a computer ecosystem with Meet for computers and professional environment, and Duo for mobile phones. Although both apps sometimes cross the line.
Part of these movements is also affecting Gmail, which in recent weeks has already taken the step of incorporating Meet into the app’s tabs, a functionality that will arrive sooner or later depending on when Google definitively activates it. The next thing, that Gmail for Android will also have chat. Google Chat, and with full integration.
Mail, video and chat under the same app
The information comes to us through Android Police, which has decompiled the last of the APK files corresponding to the Gmail app for Android and has found the future changes hidden in its code. It is common for developers to place parts of code in their applications to activate future functionalities, and in this case it is appreciated the prompt arrival of Google Chat to Gmail that we carry on our mobile phones.
In the latest Gmail APK you can see how the integration with Meet, Google’s video call service, is becoming more robust, but also lines of code that lay the groundwork for two future tabs. One of them would be called “Chat“and it would become a private chat for conversations between two contacts. The second one would be called”Rooms” and would serve to host group conversations. And yes, we are talking about text conversations.
Google will integrate Chats in Gmail, although we can disable them. The question is, also RCS?
Google would thus be bringing to Gmail for Android all its interpersonal communication systems so that it is not necessary to change apps to use these services. If before we had an app for email and an app for video calls, in addition to an app for chat with a Google Allo already disappeared, now everything will run under the Gmail app itself. The price, however, will be that we will inevitably have a heavier app in every sense. With RCS messaging? We’ll see.
As in the case of the Meet tab, which is still in the implementation phase, users we can deactivate both individual chats and chat rooms, thus keeping the functionality of Gmail for Android intact. We will see, however, if these characteristics are not too annoying being, as it seems they will be, ‘opt-out’.
Track | 9to5Google
