Google releases Messenger app in Google Play to handle SMS/ MMS

Google doesn’t seem to be able to decide which app should handle the SMS and MMS on your Android phone. After bringing the SMS/ MMS capabilities to Hangouts with Android 4.4, the company had hoped with it would replace the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) texting app but that didn’t happen and most of the OEMs either bundled their own texting app or stuck to the AOSP one.

Now, the search giant has introduced a brand new Messenger app in Google Play, which works on all Android 4.1+ devices and sports the Material Design. The app doesn’t replace the AOSP version and just adds another option for the Android users. It is the same app that will come pre-installed in Nexus 6, but others can grab it from Google Play.

In terms of the features, the Messenger app offers the basic set of features that you can expect from a modern texting app like image sharing, emojis support, ability to block senders, easy search, threaded view, audio messages and more.