Google Messages’ handy new long-press menu is finally rolling out widely

Long-pressing a message should be one of those tiny interactions you never have to think about. In Google Messages, though, it has long meant reaching toward the top of the screen for basic actions — hardly ideal when phones keep getting bigger. Google began cleaning that up months ago when it widened access to its redesigned menu in beta in August, and now the upgrade finally appears to be making the jump to stable users.

Reddit user Lazy_Excitement_2602 spotted the new menu on the stable version of Google Messages, specifically version 20260903_04. Several other users in the thread also confirmed seeing it outside the beta program, including on a Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus and S25 Ultra, suggesting the rollout is no longer limited to Pixel devices or testers.

The redesigned menu appears when you long-press a message, replacing the old top toolbar with a floating list positioned much closer to the selected bubble. Actions such as Reply, Forward, Copy, Star, Delete, Select more, and Info are easier to reach without stretching a thumb toward the top of the display. Photos can also surface options such as Save or Remix.

The other useful part of this rollout is selective text copying. Instead of copying an entire message to grab an address, code, or sentence, you can long-press again and drag the selection handles over only the text you need.

We reported in August that both changes were becoming more widely available in the Google Messages beta, but their availability remained inconsistent and server-controlled. That still appears to be the case now, but with a wider net of users. Stable users are increasingly seeing the redesign, but it may not show up for everyone immediately.

So, after months of testing and stop-start appearances, one of Google Messages’ most practical quality-of-life upgrades finally looks ready for the masses.