Android Messages might soon allow texting from your PC

Google has a slew of messaging apps, Hangouts for corporate chats, Allo for consumer chat and the SMS for normal texting. But none of the mentioned apps had something that would cause a stir in the market dominated by WhatsApp, iMessage and the Facebook Messenger.

Well, this might change, as the lastest code extracted by Android Police indicates something that could cause a stir. The code for the latest version of Android Messages, the Google app for SMS shows that users might be able to send messages through their computers soon.

Just like WhatsApp and Allo, users will be able to go to a webpage, scan the QR code and connect their Pcs to the phone to send texts. The code also suggests that multiple browsers will be supported, in fact, support for multiple computers is also on the cards.

Although, it's a good move by Google to catch up with the competition, it's actually not something that would attract a lot of users, considering the diminishing popularity of the SMS. Even paired with MMS, it doesn't bring anything new to the table to go head-to-head with modern texting apps.

This is where RCS or Rich Communication Services comes into play. Android Messages has always been company's RCS app, RCS gives SMS some features that users would like, such as high-resolution images, read receipts, and typing indicators and more. But like many other messaging apps, RCS also requires support from a cloud-based infrastructure to work.

But the adoption of the service will depend on the mobile carriers implementing it and making it compatible with their network. Android Police also found a code for a pop-up thread that read "New! Text over Wi-Fi and data." But what's more intriguing is the line that comes in the fine print: "Chat features are powered by Google. By continuing, you accept the %1$s."

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It will be interesting to see how Google's new strategy to take advantage of Android's worldwide dominance goes this time. Also, it's been a year and a half since the company announced a major upgrade to its messaging apps, so users are probably due for a new update.