Wednesdays are usually the days we can expect to see application updates from Google and just earlier this afternoon we saw some of the changes that are going to be implemented in the latest version of the Play Music application, and now it looks like Google is updating the Messenger app from version 1.0 to 1.2. If you don’t already have messenger installed on your device, you can download and install it from the play Store, however, the 1.2 version doesn’t seem to be live in the Play Store just yet. In this case, we have the apk file for you to grab here in this post so you can be on the latest version of the app without the wait.
Google’s stock messenger app is a great display of colorful expression with Material Design and lots of color pop, theme choices and such. The latest update which is starting to roll out as of now but will likely take a couple of days to reach everyone at least, brings in support for animated GIF images, which is something we’re sure many users will be very happy to have. Other than the animated GIF’s there’s likely some bug fixes and improvements made here, which is usually the case with all app updates and users may experience slightly better performance from the app.
In addition, just like how Google has consolidated the “About” section of devices running on Android 5.1 Lollipop, Google has consolidated part of the settings here in the Messenger app as well, taking all settings options below the “vibrate” portion of the menu and placing them into their own category labeled “advanced settings.” This should help to clean the settings menu up a bit and keep things as organized as possible, which is always a good thing to see. Those appear to be the only noticeable tweaks Google has made to the app this time around, so nothing too monumental, but any change, even minor ones are welcomed if they bring an added delightful experience, and who can resist sending off an animated GIF now and then? You can grab the APK file here, install by tapping on the download from the notification in your status bar.
