Google has added a new feature that now shows you from the Messages home screen in Android which of your conversations are eligible to use the RCS platform. Previously, you could figure this out by opening a conversation and looking at the text field at the bottom of the screen. If the conversation was with someone using an Android phone and RCS, you would see the words “RCS message.” If you were texting an iOS user or an Android user using a non-RCS messaging app, you’d see the words “Text message.”
The Messages icon on the lower right of the avatars in the red boxes indicate those conversations that will use the RCS platform
With the new feature, which shows up in the latest beta release to Google Messages (version 20230615_02_RC00), a badge that looks like the Google Messages icon appears on the bottom right of the avatars on individual and group conversations that will use the RCS platform when you tap to reopen them. Nothing shows up on the avatars that belong to those conversations on your Messages home screen that were conducted using SMS/MMS instead of RCS. The RCS badges have appeared on my Pixel 6 Pro running Android 14 Beta 3.1.
Since this feature is on the beta version of Google Messages, it should be available to all Android users running the Messages by Google app soon.
