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Nexus 6 Review

Reviewing Google’s new Nexus 6 has been an entertaining mixed bag of an experience.…

124 Comments

  • I wish I could just get one app to work properly. Hangouts doesn’t load any MMS, only hangouts messages and SMS. It gets stuck in that “downloading” stage. Switched over to google messenger and it doesn’t even show that a MMS came through. Its like it never was sent… I can’t win here.

  • Everyone is complaining about Google’s multiple messaging apps.
    My Moto X has three installed right now: stock Messaging(from the GB era), Hangouts, and now Messenger.
    I have utilized Messenger as my default app. It has just what I need. It could use GIF support and few minor tweaks.

    As for the other two currently installed: I have disabled Hangouts only because I cannot uninstall the dang app. You can’t even disable the dinosaur we know as Messaging, it’s just sitting there unattended. Hopefully the Lollipop update fixes this conundrum.

    Same with Calender/Google Calender, Gallery/Photos, Camera/Google Camera, Gmail//Email/Inbox, etc.

  • I keep trying all these new messaging apps and keep going back to my stock lg g3 appthat has the pop up quick reply and works really well

    • I was about to post this. I wouldn’t mind having a few more theme options, but as far as functionality goes, the stock G3 messaging app works well.

  • Anyone having issues sending and receiving MMS with this? Can’t do either, but I’ve also been having weird connection issues today

  • My brain hurts. Do I use inbox or the new gmail. Both are awesome. Now do i use this new SMS(I can’t because I use a google voice number) or hangouts?

  • Can anyone tell the rhyme/reason as to why some conversations are red, other, blue, etc? I sit just random?

  • Anyone know how to change the bubble color on the text? I know it has something to do with contacts but some people are red some blue some yellow and I’d like to be able to pick and choose

    • I think I do too after trying Messenger. Once you get used to tabbed conversations it’s a little hard to go back to traditional SMS layouts. Hello SMS uses a much better looking emoji set as well and I appreciate the automatic night-mode transitions.

  • I installed this and played with it for a minute or two before setting as my default app. I noticed that I couldn’t adjust the notification settings until I had set as default (for obvious reasons). In the settings though, the vibrate box was checked (but grayed out). When I made Messenger my default app, I unchecked vibrate (I use Tasker to vibrate for SMS only when the screen is off), but I still get vibrations from the app (clearly different than the pattern I setup in Tasker, and the screen was on). I looked in the per-conversation settings and each one is checked to vibrate. I tried toggling the global vibrate on/off a few times with no luck.

    Don’t really want to go into every conversation and turn it off… Anyone else notice this?

  • Why didn’t they just update the stock messaging app that was always there (before they removed it from Nexus devices) and put it in the play store? However, I am excited to know that if you buy a skinned phone, you can make almost every single app the Google one except for the dialer.

  • is anyone else’s circle ‘+’ button lookin kinda ovally and not like a circle? (also if you look closely it’s kinda lower res compared to everything else. using oneplus one, turned off screen nav buttons to see if it made a difference but it didn’t

    • I noticed that it didn’t seem very round. I think it’s the shadow under it. The darker blue color and the gray/black shadow on the bottom only make it seem more oval than circle.

  • I got excited until I realized that it’s not a Google Talk replacement. I don’t need an SMS client. I have one. I was hoping for a less swiss army knife version of hangouts. You know, like talk. That is easier to sign in and out of.

  • I love Hangouts. I get annoyed sometimes, cuz it lags, but to me, its worth it.
    I use it to do my MMS and SMS and VM. It’s pretty Seamless to me.
    Is this app replacing the Green Stock Messaging thats on aosp app?

    • In my opinion Hangouts really took a step or two back with it’s latest update/revamp. I don’t think it’s as functional. When I combined the SMS/Hangouts it was a mess. I rarely use it now. Again, just my opinion.

      • it seems fine for me, but i can say when my friend tried to do the same on his OnePlus One, it screwed up everyhing and he couldnt recieve/send texts.
        So it might be the phone or the network? idk
        it was weird tho.

  • For those Google Voice users (like me) who are curious if this new Messaging app supports Google Voice as your number for sending/receiving SMS/MMS messages, allow me to confirm for you that this new app does not support this at all.

    So, to be clear, you can NOT use this new Messaging app to send/receive messages over your Google Voice Account/Number.

      • you have hangouts wtf, hangouts is built for Google’s messaging service(s). messenger
        is a stock android messenger.

    • Unfortunately, it’s not. Went back to Textra already. Another google app that’s nice looking but not enough settings options to make it better than the competition. No pop up with reply option. If it had that I would probably switch!

  • I am glad I check this site out first, I always get the latest updates to Google news…appreciate the hard work guy!!!

  • Does anyone else just really love the icon?? I could care less about the actual app, but man.. that icon.. *drool*

    • Same here, just switched to Hangouts because the default Messaging app on the Droid Maxx is terrible. I don’t like the fact that I can’t send a picture in Hangouts without being part of G+ and I don’t like seeing total strangers names when searching for a contact. I’ll download this and give it a shot.

  • They need to add the whole attachment (voice message, picture preview…etc) section to hangouts ASAP.

  • It’s okay. It doesn’t look so great on my 1st gen Moto X though. Conversations take up a ton of space. The app is probably better suited for screens 5.2″ and up.

  • so i should uninstall my google app that i use for text messaging so i can install this google app that i can use for messaging? at best the target audience is niche.

  • Love Textra but have issues with keeping notifications in sync with lightflow (I want lightflow’s vibration and led options). Will give this a try.

    • I use both lightflow and textra as well, The trick is you have to have the following settings in Textra for lIghtflow and textra to coexist CORRECTLY….
      LED Blink Color-None, Notification Sound-Silent, Vibrate-No, Vibrate Pattern(doesn’t matter since we put No aleady), Wake up screen(up to you, I have no), Repeate Notification-Never(since i have lightflow to do that)… Let me know how that goes

  • So many messaging apps [Google]… so little time. For reals though… pick one and make it robust!

  • Why settle for just hangouts when you can use two different apps?

    Seriously Google, please just pick one and focus.

    • This is meant for Text messages only, this isn’t meant to be an one for all like Hangouts. I’m actually glad they did this, I can’t stand hangouts.

        • Hangouts gets the job done just fine. sure, I’d like to see some updates with the app, but nothing major. I don’t understand some of the hate towards Hangouts.

          • For me it would be that I don’t care for the GChat contacts at all. I would like that tab to be completely gone. But even when I switch to the SMS tab and hit the ‘+’ and start typing out a name, it does something as useless as query Google+ for people I have never heard of. When I came across the Textra app, there was no going back.

          • Agreed, why does google think I want to talk to some stranger on G+ every time I type a name in to start a new conversation in hangouts. There’s also significant preference given to email addresses in the search. I can type “mom” and have to scroll past anyone with m, o, and m in their email address (or even not, I don’t know why some of the results are related at all). Not to mention that the query takes 10x as long by exploring all the G+ options.

          • I just found out about and started using Textra yesterday. Fantastic so far! Handles group MMS perfectly! So many apps seem to have issues with this and with most of my family having iPhones this is a big headache for me.

          • Truthfully, I’d prefer to use Hangouts, but the Hangouts dev team forgot about Notification Actions. If I could use Hangouts to quick reply like I can with the Message app, I’d be using Hangouts.

            Google definitely seems to be confused. Didn’t they release the N5 with Hangouts only?

          • That is the one thing keeping me from using Hangouts full time. I really don’t care about any of the features of Hangouts, as I used it almost purely for SMS, but no notification actions is constantly a dealbreaker when messenger works

          • The thing with me and hangouts is the hangups it has when sending text sometimes it takes forever to send an sms. Don’t even get me started on MMS.

          • Messaging is even worse. I don’t think I’ve had group MMS work properly once with Messaging.

          • only app i’ve found that does notification actions really well is 8sms. Has anyone else found anything better?

          • Hangouts is very difficult to use for MMS messages (groups and pictures). Finding and adding several people on a single MMS group message is a pain because it keeps wanting to boot you to their email address. Second the picture handling is very clunky and you can only add 1 picture to a MMS message. (please save the “just use textra” responses, I’m referring to the short comings of Hangouts for MMS/SMS). If they cleaned up that bit, then I’d use Hangouts for all.

          • Oddly enough, those two features work amazing well in the web based implementation of hangouts. I was amazed how easy it was to mms multiple pictures to multiple people via my voice number.

        • As long as that one app doesn’t force me to stay signed in and viewable as Online in order to receive SMS, like how Hangouts does.

      • Yeah, im giving this a test run after being on hangouts for awhile, i may be done with hangouts at this point.

    • Hangouts sucks. It was google bloatware in a way, forced usage app. Glad I don’t need to use craptastic hangouts app

    • Love Google but they drive me crazy with this type of things. I have the same issue with “gallery” and “photos”. Ugh!

    • I really like the look of this new messaging app. I use hangouts though so I’m really hoping hangouts will take on a similar look. I really like the colors of it

    • Seriously! I would use this but i use hangouts messaging occasionally. Hangouts is so ugly and needs its proper material design makeover not just a flash of color.

    • How can this be just a stock SMS app when it does not work without play services?? looks like Google has some plans for the future of messenger..
      uninstall play services & take a look

      • Textra works great on my Verizon phones (M8, MX 2014, N4). Actually, Google Messenger like just like Textra but without all the nice features Textra has.

      • Verizon has a terrible default apn setting system. The techs don’t even know it, I had to have my phone replaced and the phone wasn’t the problem. After talking to a bunch of people there, one person knew what the problem was.

          • sorry I meant to add that you have to reset them to default because they are regional and your phone may not have originally been set up for your area is what I was told and it fixed my issues

          • I still have to reset them from time to time because they go back to their factory default which was the wrong region for me

          • Ah. Hmm, mine have been working great for the past year or so on different phones, but before that it was a nightmare.

          • I just started having issues in the last year. I didn’t have any before that, must be my region is the worst because they have people with Android and iPhones getting exchanged all the time.

      • Textra has been causing random restarts of my OG moto X. A shame because I love the app, but restarts were happening quite a bit both inside and outside the app.

    • Also this doesn’t replace the stock messaging app my moto x 2013 so now I have 3, messenger, messenging and hangouts…

      • Also, does anyone know if the stock messaging app can be disabled if messenger is downloaded? I want messenger, but I also do not want 3 separate apps on my phone for texting.

        • I don’t think you can disable it, but you can change the default SMS app and hide the icon with Nova/Apex. You can disable the Verizon Messaging+ app, though.

      • No it does not replace the stock app Messaging, and on my AT&T OG Moto X I can’t disable Messaging. I just select Messenger as the default SMS app and turn off notifications on Messaging. 3.27MB won’t make or break my phone.

    • no. Android is 2 things.

      1. An OPEN SOURCE OS, completely independent of google products (play, gmail, hangouts, etc).
      2. A mobile hub to connect to all of google services.

      For #2, we have hangouts. For those with #1, they’ll need “messaging”

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