Samsung bids farewell to its Messages app in favor of Google Messages 📨

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Samsung has made a significant decision by replacing its proprietary messaging app with Google Messages on its latest smartphones. This change, which primarily affects the U.S. market for now, marks a turning point in Samsung’s strategy and could have important repercussions for the Android ecosystem.

A Gradual but Significant Change ⏳

The replacement of Samsung Messages with Google Messages began with the brand’s latest flagship models, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6. In the United States, these devices now come with Google Messages pre-installed by default, without the Samsung Messages option. This transition is expected to extend to future Samsung models, potentially signaling the end of an era for the manufacturer’s in-house app.

However, it’s important to note that this change is not yet global. European and Canadian versions of the same models still retain Samsung Messages pre-installed, at least for now.

Multiple Factors Behind This Strategic Choice 🗂️

Several factors seem to have motivated Samsung’s strategic decision. Firstly, Google Messages benefits from a much larger user base. This popularity allows Google to invest more in developing and improving its app, thus offering an optimized user experience.

Moreover, switching to Google Messages allows Samsung to make significant savings in terms of software development and maintenance. Managing a messaging app, with its regular updates and the addition of new features like RCS (Rich Communication Services), represents a considerable cost. By opting for Google Messages, Samsung transfers this burden to Google while ensuring its users have a modern and efficient messaging app.

Finally, the upcoming arrival of satellite messaging on Samsung smartphones, planned with One UI 7 based on Android 15, is natively supported by Google Messages but not by Samsung Messages.

What Impact on Users? 🤔

For the majority of users, this change might go unnoticed, as Google Messages offers similar features to Samsung Messages. Nevertheless, fans of the Samsung app will still be able to download it from the Google Play Store, although the duration of the app’s support remains uncertain.

This shift towards Google Messages contributes to a more unified Android experience, creating a more homogeneous messaging platform for all Android users. Google and Samsung notably allied earlier this year to offer a default solution for file sharing on Android, Quick Share.

Although this change is currently limited to certain markets and models, it could signal a broader trend in the Android smartphone industry. It remains to be seen whether Samsung will extend this strategy to other regions and how it will affect the Android ecosystem as a whole. Indeed, it’s worth remembering that Google has a poor reputation when it comes to discontinuing services.

Which messaging app do you use daily? What do you think about this change in Samsung’s strategy? Come discuss it in the comments.