Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Google Messages app could be getting a branding tweak that removes the famous “G” logo.
- It seems that the company plans to use the full “Google” wordmark in the app’s header going forward.
- The new Google Messages branding seems to be consistent with other Google apps, such as Photos, Calendar, Drive, and more.
Google is constantly making subtle changes to the look and feel of its core apps, and we’ve discovered that Google Messages may be in line for a minor but notable branding tweak.
While digging around in the latest Google Messages beta version, we found that the app is experimenting with a branding update in its header that aligns with branding seen across many other Google apps.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Currently, Google Messages displays the familiar standalone “G” icon in the top-left corner of the app’s screen. However, using certain tricks of the trade, we uncovered that the “G” logo is being swapped out for the full “Google” wordmark, a more direct and brand-forward approach.
Our teardown also shows how this updated branding will appear across different devices, including Samsung phones running One UI.
Although Google could have updated the existing “G” logo to its newer multi-colored gradient version, it’s not surprising that the company has made this change. Many of its core apps, like Google Calendar, Drive, and Photos, already display the “Google” branding in the app header, typically in plain white text. In this case, Messages seems to be following that trend, but with a twist. The wordmark appears in Google’s full-color logo, making it stand out a bit more.
We don’t know when or if Google will switch to this new branding in Messages anytime soon, but it might be part of an upcoming UI refresh. We’ll keep tracking it to see if it reaches stable builds.
