Google Messages could soon be able to send iMessage-like 'reaction texts'

RCS chat Source: Android Central

What you need to know

An APK teardown of the Messages app v5.8 has revealed that Google is working on introducing "reaction texts" similar to iMessage.
When users react to a message from someone who doesn't have RCS enabled, Messages will send them a reaction text such as "Liked a photo."
In addition to "reaction texts", Google is also expected to add emoji reactions to the Messages app in the near future.

It was recently revealed that Google is working on bringing the much anticipated message reactions feature to the Messages app. While the feature hasn't been rolled out to users yet, the folks at 9to5Google have discovered a bunch of strings in the latest Messages beta v5.8 that suggest the app could soon support "reaction fallback texts" similar to Apple's iMessage.

Source: 9to5Google

The "fallback" texts will be sent when you talk to users who do not have RCS enabled on their phones. Similar to iMessage, the Android Messages app will send your reactions as a descriptive text message when talking to someone without RCS. A few examples of such "fallback" texts include "Liked a photo" and "Laughed at a photo." In addition to photos, such reaction texts will also be sent for your reactions to contacts, gifs, text messages, and videos.

Just like the emoji reactions feature, however, there is no word yet on how long it will take for Google to roll out iMessage-like reaction texts to all users. Since the feature cannot be enabled in the latest beta version of the Messages app, it looks like we may have to wait for at least a few weeks, if not months, for it to start rolling out widely.