What you might want to know
- Beginning with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6, the Samsung Messages app is not pre-installed on Samsung units.
- Now, the corporate seems to be prompting customers to change to Google Messages as their default SMS app.
- Whereas the Samsung Messages app isn’t instantly being discontinued totally, all indicators level to Google Messages being the longer term messaging app of One UI.
For higher or for worse, utilizing a Samsung Galaxy cellphone has traditionally meant residing with duplicate default apps. After all, Google consists of default variations of its personal apps, just like the Chrome browser. On high of that, Samsung would possibly embrace an alternate app as a part of its One UI pores and skin for Android, like Samsung Web. You’ll discover shortly after switching to a Galaxy cellphone that there are a number of apps for a similar perform, and that is far much less widespread on different telephones.
One instance is Samsung Messages, which serves as an SMS app along with Google Messages. Initially, Samsung Messages was set because the default for Galaxy units, however that modified a number of years in the past. Even after Samsung began transport Galaxy telephones with Google Messages because the default SMS app, the Samsung Messages app was nonetheless pre-installed in its place. That lastly modified this summer time, when the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 launched with out Samsung Messages pre-installed.
That transfer led many to imagine that Samsung was slowly making ready to ship its Messages app off into the sundown. Whereas a direct discontinuation doesn’t appear to be within the playing cards, Samsung does seem like transferring away from Samsung Messages (by way of 9to5Google). As famous by customers on social media websites, like Reddit, a current Samsung Messages replace is prompting customers to change to Google Messages.
The immediate pushes customers to set Google Messages as their default SMS app. In the event that they select to offer Google Messages a attempt, their Samsung Messages historical past might be imported to the brand new default app. Nevertheless, some customers report that syncing tons of or hundreds of messages might be an excruciating course of that ends in Google Messages slowing to a crawl within the brief time period.
This push is the most recent urging Samsung Messages customers to attempt Google Messages. Some folks have been transferring to Google Messages on their very own accord now that it’s the default messaging app for Galaxy units and One UI. Moreover, RCS assist in Samsung Messages might be hit-or-miss, because it’s carrier-dependent. In comparison with the full-fledged RCS assist in Google Messages, Samsung Messages is lagging behind. Now that Samsung is clearly transferring away from the app, it may not ever catch up.
Between Samsung’s obvious push for Google Messages and Apple’s impending assist of RCS, which is able to work finest in Google Messages, there’s good motive to change. It seems like solely a matter of time earlier than Samsung Messages is sundown altogether. For now, it’s value emphasizing that the app remains to be kicking and customers can nonetheless proceed to make use of it.
Why are there so many duplicate apps?
I’ve no stake within the Samsung Messages versus Google Messages debate, since I’m primarily a Pixel consumer. Even on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, I stick to Google Messages because it’s the default. However as a longtime hater of the bloat that sometimes comes with Samsung’s One UI pores and skin of Android, I’m enthusiastic about the potential for there being one much less duplicate software on Galaxy telephones.
After testing every kind of Android telephones from all the largest producers, Samsung delivers the worst software program expertise, in my view. The variety of pre-installed, third occasion apps you’ll discover on inventory One UI units is ridiculous — I shouldn’t must see the Amazon app on my cellphone until I select to put in it. When you think about the duplicate apps, like Samsung Calendar and Google Calendar, or Chrome and Samsung Web, all of it provides as much as create a bloated expertise.
I get why Samsung needs to supply its personal variations of default apps. It has an ecosystem to assist, and it’d simply be probably the most versatile ecosystem on the market. You should buy a Samsung cellphone, pill, watch, earbuds, laptop computer, and even washer or TV when you select. Nevertheless, the ecosystem software program shouldn’t hamper the expertise of utilizing Galaxy telephones as, effectively, telephones. Google makes higher variations of many, if not all, of Samsung’s default apps. That makes a few of them merely redundant.
Particularly of late, Samsung Messages has been a redundant holdover of the early One UI days. Google Messages is healthier, and Samsung is pushing customers away from its personal messaging app as a result of it’s for the very best. I hope it results in Samsung Messages being sundown ultimately, for simplicity’s sake. Wanting broader, I’d like to see Samsung audit its suite of default and pre-installed functions. One UI is probably the most bloated Android pores and skin on the market, but it surely doesn’t must be.
