Google Messages is fixing a major UI annoyance

Google Messages is taking care of complaints regarding the combined camera and gallery interface.

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Google Messages camera gallery interface
If there's one app that gets updated frequently, it's Google Messages. Not only does Google frequently roll out changes, but it's also swift in handling complaints. In June, the gallery and camera interface were redesigned, but not everyone was a fan of it. Google is currently taking care of that.

The interface that rolled out in June combined the camera and gallery. When the button to the right of the text field was tapped, it displayed a viewfinder at the top and a photo grid at the bottom. Users who didn't want to activate their camera every time they tried to attach a photo weren't happy with the change. The only fix was to disable the camera in Google Messages.

It was also annoying for some users that tapping the gallery icon brought up a full-screen viewfinder that took up most of the screen, while the remaining portion was taken up by the photo grid, hiding the conversation completely.

 

Google has taken care of the problem by letting users access the camera and gallery separately. When you tap the 'plus' menu on the right, you will now be able to decide if you want to bring up the camera or go to the gallery.



Google hasn't rolled back the previous changes, though. Selecting the icon in the text field will still summon the combined interface.

Did you find the combined gallery and camera interface in Google Messages annoying?

Yes, I mostly only attach photos from the gallery
76.27%
Only initially, but then I got used to it
11.86%
No, not like it added a ton of extra steps
11.86%

Google is basically letting you decide which interface is right for you. We think it might merge the viewfinder and gallery again when more people get used to it. The opposite may also prove to be true, but we are just speculating. For now, it has done the sensible thing by keeping around both options. After all, these are both frequently used options, and any friction would adversely affect the user experience. 

9to5Google says that the change is being rolled out on a limited scale to the latest version of the Google Messages beta.

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