The application package for the upcoming version of Android Messages, v2.9, contains suggestions that Google is working on a web interface for sending text messages via computer. This could pair a phone with a laptop or desktop computer in order to send text messages.
Phrases in the package include “Messages for Web”, “Scan your QR code”, “Text over Wi-Fi and data” and “Sign out of all computers”.
The updated app would likely direct users to visit a web site on a browser on their PC, where they can scan a QR code to pair their phone and computer. Once paired, users can use Android Messages on their computer, while the phones themselves do the SMS or MMS communication.
With its new Messages app, Google may adopt Rich Communications Services (RCS), a universal standard aimed at replacing text messages with an enhanced, more multifunctional messaging system, including group chats, longer texts, ‘read’ receipts and high-resolution photo sharing. In 2017...