Samsung’s new line of Galaxy S22 devices now comes pre-installed with Google Messages, giving a major boost for the adoption of Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging in the US.
Google Messages, with Google’s broad support of RCS messaging, became the default messaging app on the Galaxy S21 last year in Europe and other markets, but not in the US, reports ZDNet.
Now Samsung has made Google Messages the default messaging app in the US, the report said.
Google has been pushing RCS to be treated as a standard on all phones, including Apple’s iPhone.
RCS is the would-be modern standard for SMS that allows WhatsApp-like functionality for the standard messaging experience on Android. But RCS is not supported by Apple’s iMessage app.
According to 9to5Google, Samsung has now made Google Messages the default messaging app in the US for the newly unveiled Galaxy S22 series, which includes the S22, S22 Plus, and premium Ultra.
Previously, the US users could install Google Messages from the Play Store on S21 devices, but since it was not the default messaging app it was unlikely users would take the time to change it to the default.
In the S22 series, Google Messages also replaces Samsung Messages on the device’s home screen, the report said.
