Google Messages is testing a redesigned app icon in its latest beta release. The update moves away from the familiar flat, interlocking pill design and introduces a more expressive chat-bubble look with a smooth blue gradient.
The change appears in Google Messages version v20261030 beta. It is already visible for beta testers on Android and Wear OS, though Google has not shared when the icon will arrive for stable users.
The current icon uses two interlocking horizontal pills in different shades of blue. The overlapping area creates a third tone, giving the icon a clean and minimal appearance.
The new icon replaces those pills with a plump, rounded speech bubble in the foreground. It blends from a soft pinkish-blue highlight at the top into a vibrant royal blue below. A darker solid blue bubble sits behind it toward the upper-left, suggesting an ongoing conversation.
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The redesign brings Google Messages closer to the gradient styling used in other recently updated Google app icons. Instead of looking abstract, the new icon more clearly represents messaging and conversation.
Google has also been reworking the Messages settings interface, so the new icon suggests a broader visual refresh may be underway. For now, users who want the new look need to join the Google Messages beta program.