Starting with the release of the Fold 6 series, Samsung Messages will no longer be pre-installed on future Samsung devices. Google Messages will be the only messaging app on phones in the US. Google is pushing this especially with the implementation of RCS compatibility on Iphones come September. RCS will only work from Google Messages to IMessage. Google owns Android, their platform, their rules.
Samsung Messages will still be available for download in the Galaxy Store, stripped of any real meaningful features.
Not only will Google Messages be the sole messaging app, RSC will be turned on by default. If you wish to have RCS chat features it will ONLY be available in Google's product.
I will bet that when the next update rolls out, all those that still have enhanced features in the Samsung Messages it will be gone. Samsung Messages will now only be SMS/MMS.
This is the future going forward with messaging in the US, you either jump on board with Google Messages or you can stay with Samsung Messages with no enhanced features.
Carriers don't want to do it anymore. It's expensive. They are more than happy handing it over to Google. The vast majority of Android users use Google Messages, over a billion downloads.
I have been on Google Messages since RCS has been implemented back when you had to download multiple apps to get it up and running on a non Pixel phone. I am still running the Beta.
I feel like I'm one of the few that used both Google and Samsung messages and preferred Samsung. Now finding out, literally now, that it's been phased out... Bummed out.
I dislike Google messages. I tried, but mainly the fact that I can't customize anything on it. They added some bland colors that look terrible. The purple looks pink. Lol. I use different color text boxes also and Google can't do that. I don't care RCS either as no one I message has it so it's basically a useless feature right now.. Although it doesn't come pre-installed anymore, you can still download it from the playstore, but it says some features aren't available with it. Idk what those are.
