Samsung is dropping its first-party messaging app in the USA and making Google Messages the pre-installed choice out of the field. The corporate made the announcement in a discover despatched by the Samsung Members app.
It states that “Samsung Messages will not be preloaded” on the Galaxy Z Flip6, Z Fold6, and “newer fashions”. Google Messages is the brand new alternative as a result of it gives an “enhanced expertise” by permitting customers to specific themselves securely, in accordance with the discover.
Judging from the wording, the corporate appears to be speaking about RCS, or Wealthy Communication Providers. Google created this messaging protocol to significantly enhance textual content messaging between Android telephones.
RCS can ship completely different file varieties past plain textual content messages, helps high-resolution pictures and movies, and protects your information by way of end-to-end encryption. Samsung Messages does assist the protocol, however not in the identical capability as Google Messages, which is extra broadly out there.
Samsung Messages “remains to be out there for obtain from the Galaxy Retailer”, nevertheless a couple of of its options “shall be excluded”. Which of them precisely are unknown, as neither the discover nor the app itemizing explains what was eliminated.
Lacking information
There’s a good quantity of essential data lacking. For starters, is the adoption of Google Message a world replace?
Preliminary stories point out the change is simply occurring in the USA, and trade professional Mishaal Rahman took to X (the platform previously often known as Twitter), writing that the “Canadian and European builds for the Galaxy Z Flip6 and Fold6” nonetheless have the first-party app pre-installed. “Solely US unlocked [and] provider items” are seeing the replace.
Moreover, it’s unknown if the change will happen anyplace else. The discover talked about one thing about newer fashions, however we don’t know if the tech big refers back to the upcoming Galaxy S25 or the S24 collection. There’s a good likelihood these modifications may roll out to older gadgets. Again in 2022, on the Galaxy S22, the corporate determined to make Google Messages the default RCS app whereas protecting its personal software program as a secondary choice for customers.
2024 has seen the 2 giants be a part of forces in a wide-reaching partnership affecting a number of areas, from smartphones to synthetic intelligence. Eliminating one (arguably lesser) messaging app to assist its modern higher is perhaps Samsung’s present mindset.
We reached out to Samsung asking if different fashions shall be affected and if there are plans to convey these modifications globally. This story shall be up to date if we hear again.
You’ll want to try TechRadar’s checklist of the finest Samsung telephones for 2024.
