With the launch of Android Lollipop, the material design apps are now trending. Material design, in simple terms, is the new set of design guidelines determined by Google, in which the design of apps should be minimalist and classy. The motion of objects should correspond to the user action without breaking the continuity of experience. Many apps have already adapted to these design policies and we have already discussed some of them with you.

Textra for Android

Today I am going to review an all new messaging app called Textra, which is the very first app on the Play Store that features the Android Lollipop Material Design look.

After you install the app, it will take some time for the initial setup before you can start using it. Once the setup is done, the app will load all your messages, and at the bottom of the screen you will see the option to make Textra the default messaging app.

Textra will feel a bit sluggish at first, but that’s just because it’s optimizing in the background. Once the optimization is complete, the app will be blazing fast. The app navigation is just like any other messaging app, with the compose button at the bottom right of the screen, indicated by a plus sign. At the top we have the option to search your messages. All the messages are pre-indexed and the search results are returned in real-time.

One thing I like about Textra is its support for Emojis. This additional plugin can be installed from the Play Store. So if you have friends on iPhone or you would like the WhatsApp emoticons to be a part of your regular text messaging, I am sure you are going to love it. In the settings you can customize the look of the app. You have several theme colors to choose from with different app color modes.

The next best thing about the app is the control over the notifications. You can configure the onscreen notifications individually for locked and unlocked screens. Tap the option Defaults for Notifications and configure all the styles of your notification. Under privacy, you can select if you want to show the contact name and message on the popup notifications. Apart from that, the app features SMS blacklisting to block incoming messages from specific contacts.

Conclusion

When compared to the default messaging app till Android Kitkat, Textra is just amazing. No matter how many messages you might have in your inbox, the app will optimize itself and always deliver you a smooth experience. I’ve been using the app for some days now and have yet to encounter any hiccups.

Certainly there aren’t loads of features when compared to apps like Go SMS and Handcent, which have been there for quite some time now. But if you are looking for a simple messaging app for your Android that’s optimized and based upon the new Android Lollipop Material Design, I would certainly recommend Textra. So do install the app and don’t forget to share your experience with us.