Samsung’s Galaxy S22 phones push Google Messages and the good news of RCS

Rich Communication Services (RCS), a new messaging standard that has had a protracted and rocky deployment, may be poised to see an increase in usage as Samsung’s newest smartphones default to Google’s Messages app, which is the new messaging default for Google’s Android devices. Despite the fact that the Galaxy S21 range delivered with Samsung Messages by default in the United States last year, 9to5Mac reports that When Google discovered that its Galaxy S22 Plus review device had Google Messages set as the default when it was first set up, it also noted that The Verge’s Galaxy S22 Ultra review unit had the same thing happen to it.

In a statement to The Verge, Samsung confirmed that Google’s app will now be the default option. As a result, “in order to provide users with the best possible messaging experience — a richer, more engaging communication experience that is consistent across platforms,” Samsung spokesperson Jordan Guthmann explained, “Samsung is now making Messages the default messaging app for Galaxy S22 series users worldwide, giving them even better capabilities.”

RCS messaging has several advantages over SMS texting, including typing indications, read receipts, and the ability to send higher-resolution photographs and bigger files, but adoption in the United States has been slow, taking several years. Google has taken the lead in this effort, and its messaging programme, Gmail, was the first to implement end-to-end encryption in June. The large carriers, on the other hand, have been slow to act. While they promised to replace SMS with RCS in 2019, it took until 2021 for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon to commit to make Google Messages the default messaging app for their Android devices.

Samsung phones account for a substantial portion of Android phones sold in the United States, thus the company’s decision to move to Google Messages should have a positive impact on RCS adoption. Now all we need is for Apple to go on board the RCS train, which Google would welcome as well.