Statistics show that 6 billion short message service (SMS) messages are sent daily in the United States. Known as texting, it’s become the preferred method of contact for millions of people. While Google’s Android operating system already supports texting from mobile devices, there’s new evidence suggesting the platform will support native web-based texting in the near future.
According to Android Police, Android Messages was recently updated with a new interface that supports QR codes. So, why does this matter? Well, Android already supports web-based texting through Allo. The problem with Allo, however, is that not many people use it. Allo uses QR codes for web-based texting. Therefore, some Android experts believe Google is planning to implement its own native web-based texting feature in Android Messages.
Originally released September 2016, Allo is a messaging app for both Android and Apple iOS devices. It allows users to exchange message in real time while emphasizing privacy. Furthermore, Allo features a companion web client for Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers.
While Allo has received generally positive reviews, it’s struggled to attract users. Rather than promoting Allo and trying to convince Android users to download and use it, perhaps Google will launch its own web-based texting feature for Android Messages. Since Google developed Allo, the Mountain View company doesn’t have to worry about patent or copyright issues. It can use the same or similar technology for Android Messages.
If Google does launch a new web-based texting feature for Android Messages, it would allow computer users to communicate with mobile users. The user would open his or her preferred web browser to send and receive text messages. Of course, there’s still no official word by Google on whether it Android Messages will support web-based texting. Given the recent evidence unveiled by Android Police, however, many analysts believe it’s only a matter of time.
