It seems that Samsung will be using Google’s Messages app as its new default messaging app.
Spotted on their Galaxy S22 review units, both The Verge and 9to5Google noticed that their Galaxy S22+ and S22 Ultra respectively, both had Google Messages set as the built-in text messaging app. It was then later confirmed to The Verge that Samsung did indeed implement the Google Messages app as the default messaging application. That said, Samsung’s messaging app is still available.
What makes this a big deal? Well, according to Samsung spokesman Jordan Guthmann, the company opted for Google’s app to help bring users “a richer, more engaging communication experience that is consistent across platforms.”
Apart from the usual text messages, Google’s app also supports RCS or Rich Communication Services which lets users add GIFs, photos, videos, much like how iMessage or Facebook Messenger works.
Apart from multimedia, RCS also offers typing indicators, read receipts, and can accommodate larger file sizes.
Google began to roll out Google Messages years back but with carriers still opting for SMS over RCS, it has been a slow adoption.
With Samsung phones having such a large market share in the U.S., Google may be banking on Samsung’s influence to get more people to use their app and RCS.