Samsung, in addition to developing One UI, its own version of Android for Samsung Galaxy devices, also has its own alternatives for the most basic functions of smartphones: Samsung has its own Internet browser (and I must say that it is an excellent one), its own Phone app and its own Messages app, among others.
But with the arrival of Samsung’s latest foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, the South Korean company has begun replacing its Messages app with the Google Messages app. Now, what seemed like a change that would only affect users of the company’s most modern devices, will also affect users of older mobile phones.
Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy S20 users will also say goodbye to Samsung Messages
Samsung phones typically include both messaging apps installed, Google Messages and Samsung Messages. However, on more modern phones, the default app is usually the Google-developed alternative. The company has even stopped using its own app as the default messaging app, a change it first made in the United States.
This change will also happen on mobile phones of previous generations. Several users on social networks have reported that their phones are asking them to stop using Samsung Messages and switch to Google Messages as the new default messaging app. So far, the models affected by the change are the Galaxy S22 Plus, Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S20 Ultra.
This default app change makes a lot of sense for Samsung, since the company, like Google, seek to accelerate the adoption and use of the RCS standardthe evolution of traditional text messages (SMS). Google’s Messaging app supports the format, while Samsung’s only offers RCS support on select devices, depending on the carrier the user’s phone line belongs to (at least in the United States). Google and Samsung have been working for at least a year on wider adoption of RCS as an alternative to the “green bubbles” of iPhones.
In my testing, when I try to use the Samsung Messages app on a Galaxy S23 Ultra, the same app asks me if I’m really sure I want to do this, suggesting that I continue using Google Messages as my default messaging app since it offers RCS support with more advanced features.
Cover photo | Eduardo Marín for Xataka Android
Via Android Authority
In Xataka Android |
In Xataka Android |
