If you useGoogle Messagesas a primary form of communication, you might rely on notifications from the app on your Android device to keep up with conversations. Pop-up notifications give you a few action options, such as snoozing and marking messages as read. They also typically allow you to tap “Reply” and write a quick response, but a new bug seems to be preventing this feature from functioning correctly.
As spotted by9to5Google, Google Messages users who are being impacted by the issue can only choose from “Mark as Read” when a notification appears — the options to snooze and reply to messages have disappeared. The problem does not seem to be widespread, but it has been ongoing for a few days among Pixel device users.Google has removed featuresfrom some of its products and services as of late, such as Photo Spheres within the Camera app. However, this specific problem with Google Messages is likely a glitch, and a resolution should come soon from the company.
Most users encountering this issue appear to be running the latest stable build of Google Messages, which has differing version numbers depending on the device. However, the affected builds are among the few stable updates Google has issued this year, so they generally start with 2024 in the version number. If you’re experiencing this problem, you can either wait for a bug fix or install a beta build of Google Messages. In testing multiple devices, we didn’t see this issue on version 20240116 beta, which isavailable for sideloading from APKMirror.
Not everyone uses Messages as a main form of texting, but more people are being turned onto the app as Google continues to roll out additional features. For example, the company hasintegrated an AI featurecalled Magic Compose into Messages. It can be leveraged to format written text to suit different tones, such as formal, short, or excited. Magic Compose stems from a large language model (LLM) that Google has created for mobile devices. Although it was originally limited when it was released, the feature has since expanded to work in more countries around the globe, such as France and Germany.
Additional features could be introduced to Messages and other Google apps in the near future, but it’s not a given. It’s worth noting that the company hasannounced plans to lay offmore than 1,000 employees throughout the remainder of the year, and it has already started making cuts. Many layoffs have impacted Google’s Assistant, Fitbit, and YouTube teams, for example, and the tech giant isn’t done yet. It’s possible that, as Google reduces its payroll, the means to make upgrades to such apps will become more difficult, but with a core app such as Messages, we expect a quick turnaround on this bug fix nonetheless.
