Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: Which app do you have to use?

Amid the rise of third-party messaging apps, texting stays a well-liked technique of messaging within the U.S. Should you personal an Android telephone, you’ve probably used or heard of Google Messages, which is positioned because the default textual content messaging app for Android. It’s the end result of Google’s lengthy historical past with a number of messaging platforms. Google has pursued smartphone corporations to make use of its Dialer and Messages apps as their default since at the very least 2017 and now mandates them to make use of Google Messages because the default messaging app on all units.

In the meantime, when you have been a Samsung consumer prior to now, you’ve gotten probably additionally recognized and skilled the Samsung Messages app, which comes preinstalled on all Samsung telephones and can’t be uninstalled. That is regardless of dropping its spot because the default messaging app on Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

Should you’ve purchased a brand new Samsung telephone lately, it’s essential to select between two messaging apps: Google Messages and Samsung Messages. Every app has its benefits, however you can’t use each concurrently. SIn this text, we’ll enable you to select one of the best messaging app to your Samsung smartphone by highlighting the important thing variations between Google Messages and Samsung Messages.

Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: consumer interface

The consumer interface on Google Messages has loads of similarities with Samsung Messages, particularly by way of performance. There are, nevertheless, seen variations that you just discover from the get-go.

Dwelling display

The very first thing you discover on Samsung Messages is that the listing of messages begins halfway via the show as an alternative of on the high. That is in adherence to Samsung’s One UI interface, which is designed to facilitate one-handed use. The highest half of the interface shows the variety of unread messages, and you may faucet on the View button underneath this counter to take a look at an inventory of solely unread messages. It’s value noting that the Google Messages app additionally makes use of the identical design the place the conversations listing begins in the midst of the show — however completely on Samsung telephones.

On the house display, each apps group messages from the identical sender into conversations. Google Messages shows a search bar on the highest of the welcome display, alongside together with your Google account’s profile image, which you’ll be able to faucet to open one of many two overflow menus (the second will be opened utilizing the hamburger button on the left). Each apps have buttons on the backside proper to compose new messages.

Samsung Messages has a search button as an alternative of a devoted bar, but it surely works equally. Tapping both of the weather opens a devoted web page through which the search outcomes populate as you kind. Whereas Google Messages lists outcomes by conversations, Samsung Messages makes discovering texts simpler by itemizing particular person messages.

Under the search bar, Google Messages shows tags for mechanically sorting messages into completely different classes akin to Private, Transactions, OTPs, and Provides. Samsung Messages additionally enables you to type messages into completely different classes, however with a big downside. It’s essential to create classes in Samsung Messages manually after which additionally add conversations to these classes. With computerized sorting, Google Messages makes it a lot simpler than Samsung Messages to maintain your SMS inbox clear and purposefully filtered.

Google Messages enables you to archive messages by swiping over them. Just like the Gmail app on Android, you possibly can select completely different actions (between deleting and archiving) for left and proper swiping. The swipe-to-archive characteristic is absent on Samsung Messages, which is ironic since Samsung’s Cellphone app has supported actions from swiping over contact names for almost a decade.

Lastly, Google Messages enables you to select between the sunshine and darkish themes for the interface for those who don’t want for it to be synchronized with the system theme. Identical to different Google apps, its Messages app additionally makes use of a darkish grey tint for the darkish mode.

In the meantime, Samsung Messages doesn’t provide the possibility to decide on between mild and darkish modes manually and mechanically synchronizes the app’s theme with the remainder of the telephone. Samsung makes use of a dual-shade background, together with a darker shade for the empty space and a lighter shade behind the listing of messages.

Composing and replying to messages

Google Messages and Samsung Messages have related strategies of initiating a brand new chat. You begin by tapping the button on the backside after which select the recipient out of your contact listing — or manually enter their cell quantity or electronic mail ID (solely on Google Messages) to start a dialog.

Aside from visible distinctions, Google Messages and Samsung Messages operate equally. Apart from textual content, you possibly can ship emojis, GIFs, stickers, and voice messages on Google Messages. Apart from the usual media attachments, you possibly can ship information, contacts, and your location with Google Messages by utilizing a richer messaging protocol referred to as RCS (Wealthy Communication Companies). Like Apple’s iMessage, RCS works over the web as an alternative of SMS or MMS and is, subsequently, prompt. The one requirement is that each the sender and the receiver should have RCS-enabled units. We focus on RCS options intimately beneath.

Samsung Messages provides related assist for attachments that may be despatched together with the messages. This consists of pictures, GIFs, movies, voice messages, emojis, and so on. Samsung additionally means that you can ship stickers in chats, however provided that you utilize its personal keyboard app. Samsung Messages has related options for RCS chats that allow it to ship to multimedia immediately.

Along with various attachment choices, Google Messages additionally provides “Good Replies” powered by Google Assistant. These responses are mechanically generated by AI based mostly on what it finds appropriate and seem as buttons for simple tapping.

You should use the template “Fast response” texts on Samsung Messages as properly. For faster entry, it’s also possible to add customized texts to the listing of Fast responses. Nonetheless, in contrast to Google Messages, the listing of steered responses solely incorporates a set of ordinary replies not personalized by Google Assistant. Nor does it use the corporate’s digital assistant, Bixby.

Each messaging apps help you schedule a message to be despatched sooner or later and provide direct buttons to name an individual utilizing the telephone over Google Meet (beforehand Duo). Each apps additionally allow you to schedule messages for sending at a later time.

In case your smartphone is operating Android 11 and above, conversations in Google Messages will be seen as collapsible bubbles, just like the Fb Messager Android app.

Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: RCS chat options

RCS is a messaging protocol envisioned to be the successor to SMS and MMS. Though the usual was first described by the GSM Affiliation in 2007, it didn’t turn out to be commonplace till 2015 when Google purchased Jibe Cell, which used to offer back-end companies for RCS to cell carriers.

In 2018, Google launched Chat, an RCS-backed service that will enable customers to ship and obtain wealthy multimedia akin to emojis, HD movies, GIFs, and share learn receipts, and even present the opposite individual as typing in actual time. On the time, all of those options had been both restricted to web messengers like WhatsApp and iMessage. However in contrast to Apple’s iMessage, RCS was not singly owned by one firm and, subsequently, turned extensively out there to be used by each provider and Android telephone producer.

To spur the expansion of RCS, Google launched Chat options in Messages on Android in 2018 after which partnered with carriers within the U.S. to allow these Chat options on smartphones. It has additionally partnered with Samsung to allow cohesive RCS messaging throughout Samsung and different Android units.

Presently, RCS-based messaging is extra extensively current in lots of elements of the world throughout quite a few carriers and Android units than earlier than. Nonetheless, Google Messages and Samsung Messages are nonetheless the one first-party messaging apps supporting RCS messaging. Since RCS is interoperable, it additionally works between Google Messages and Samsung Messages.

Multimedia assist

RCS equally empowers each Messages apps, including the power to share media immediately. With RCS performance turned on, you possibly can ship pictures, stickers, GIFs, emojis, audio, movies, paperwork, location, calendar entries, contacts, and voice messages throughout supported units. The present file dimension restrict is 100MB, which might not be not as spectacular as WhatsApp’s 2GB file dimension restrict, however will suffice for a big number of information.

Since RCS messages are transmitted over the web and never via your provider’s community, you possibly can ship them even with out an lively service — as long as you’re linked to Wi-Fi or every other web supply. Reliance on the web ensures that RCS messages are delivered immediately.

In the meantime, Samsung Messages prompts you to pick out the media high quality whereas sharing, permitting you to avoid wasting information for those who’re on a metered mobile community.

Learn receipts, typing indicator, and group chats

Along with increasing assist for various file sorts, RCS allows a typing indicator and skim receipts on Google Messages and Samsung Messages. You too can get pleasure from multimedia-rich group chats with different individuals who have RCS-enabled units. Google Messages additionally means that you can react to messages with emojis, whereas Samsung Messages lacks this characteristic.

Finish-to-end encryption

Beginning in August 2023, Google has enabled end-to-end encryption for RCS chats via Google Messages. Nonetheless, it doesn’t explicitly say whether or not encryption applies to RCS throughout the board or solely to conversations between Google Messages customers.

The right way to activate RCS messaging on Google Messages or Samsung Messages

To get pleasure from RCS Chat options on both Google Messages or Samsung Messages, it’s essential to allow them manually. Right here’s the best way to can do it:

1. Go to Settings on both app
2. On Google Messages, faucet RCS chats. On Samsung Messages, faucet Chat settings.
3. Allow RCS chat options in both case.

Be aware: Should you use a dual-SIM telephone, you possibly can solely allow RCS chat on the primary SIM. You may need to confirm your quantity manually if the apps don’t mechanically allow it.

Each apps additionally help you disable RCS or default to sending a message as SMS or MMS if a message can’t be despatched over the web.

Particular options in Google Messages

Aside from an excessive amount of similarities in fundamental functioning, Google Messages and Samsung Messages apps provide distinctive options not out there on the opposite. Right here’s a rundown of these distinctions.

Computerized Sorting

Google Messages provides computerized sorting of messages into the next classes:

• Private, together with messages to and from different individuals
• Transactions, together with alerts out of your financial institution, bank card corporations, and different companies suppliers
• OTPs or One Time Passwords used for authentication (or 2FA)
• Provides for promotional messages

For some customers, this categorization could also be restricted to solely two teams, Private and Enterprise, based mostly on location.

In Google Messages, it’s also possible to select the first class that seems once you open the app. You too can choose the choice to allow auto-delete for OTPs 24 hours after receiving them to scale back the muddle in your inbox.

Google Assistant-powered solutions

Google Messages makes use of A.I. to supply an array of solutions in messages. Apart from the Good Replies we talked about above, Google Messages suggests emoji, GIFs, and stickers which might be contextual to the messages. Google says these solutions are generated on the system as an alternative of being processed on the cloud, thereby staying non-public to you and others within the chat.

Aside from solutions, Google Messages will enable you to create Calendar occasions or set reminders for those who obtain a message about an occasion. This, once more, occurs fully offline and with out Google prying on you. Should you obtain a location (or a Google Maps hyperlink) in a message, Google Messages will provide a fast preview of that space on Maps and likewise help you navigate to that place. Lastly, Google Messages can present reminders for birthdays if the opposite contact has a Google account related to their quantity. Should you discover these solutions intrusive, you possibly can flip them off from the Recommendations menu contained in the app’s Settings.

Emoji responses

Emojis have turn out to be the extra typical technique to route small speak, and reactions show actually helpful right here. Like WhatsApp, Instagram, iMessage, and so on., Google Messages additionally means that you can react to messages with a broad vary of emojis. These reactions are solely out there as a part of RCS-enabled chats and require others to additionally use Google Messages.

The Samsung Messages app doesn’t assist emoji reactions and can show your response as a brand new message highlighting it.

Changing media to hyperlinks

Sending media via MMS can accrue an extra price, particularly for those who’re not on a vast mobile plan. To stop that, Google Messages mechanically converts media shared with non-RCS customers into direct net hyperlinks, which let you open media in an online browser. For privateness, these hyperlinks are solely legitimate for 72 hours.

Desktop continuity

Google Messages means that you can view and reply to messages out of your telephone on a pc by utilizing the “Gadget pairing” possibility from the three-dot menu on the welcome display. Identical to on WhatsApp Net, you must open Google Messages for net in your PC browser and hyperlink up your telephone. It have to be famous that to ship or obtain messages instantly from the PC, your telephone should even be linked to the web. Samsung Messages doesn’t have such a characteristic.

You may, nevertheless, use Microsoft’s Your Cellphone Companion app to reflect your Android system to your Home windows PC’s display. Apart from viewing and responding to messages, it’s also possible to make calls, view and handle notifications, copy or drag and drop textual content or information throughout your telephone and PC, entry your telephone’s storage, and even forged the telephone’s show onto the PC’s display. It have to be famous that Your Cellphone Companion is just not restricted to Samsung units and can be utilized with any Android system, together with these operating Google Messages. Sadly, this won’t be potential on a Mac with out third-party instruments like AirDroid or KDE Join.

Particular options in Samsung Messages

These are the particular options you get in Google Messages, however what about Samsung Messages? Samsung’s listing of unique options isn’t fairly as exhaustive, however there’s nonetheless some fascinating stuff to take a look at.

Recycle bin

The Recycle Bin inside Samsung Messages incorporates messages and conversations deleted by you within the final 30 days. If wanted, you possibly can restore these messages or go away them as they’re for computerized deletion after the 30-day window. The Recycle Bin will be useful for situations once you delete messages by mistake.

Chat display customization

One other fascinating characteristic on Samsung Messages that’s lacking on Google Messages is the power to customise a chat’s background and message bubble colours. You may select a customized coloration for the chat background or apply an image because the background to vary the texture of the chat altogether. The background and customized colours will be chosen for a selected dialog or utilized to all chats with a single faucet. You too can tweak the visibility of message bubbles and textual content based mostly on the wallpaper.

Shared doc overview

When utilizing Samsung Messages for a web-based RCS-based chat, you get an outline of the beforehand shared paperwork. Head to the precise dialog, faucet the three-dot button on the top-right, after which faucet Shared attachments.

Google Messages doesn’t provide the same capability to consolidate shared media in a single place, leaving you to scroll whereas looking for a beforehand shared file, picture, or video.

Good actions

An identical to Google Messages’ steered actions, Samsung Messages will get good solutions based mostly on sure triggers inside messages, akin to a date or a location. Samsung Messages provides direct buttons so as to add an occasion to the calendar or navigate to a location. The solutions, nevertheless, don’t really feel as thorough as with Google Messages.

Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: availability and system assist

As talked about above, Google Messages has turn out to be the default SMS app for Android. You may select numerous third-party apps from the Google Play Retailer, however most customers are unlikely to take that route, primarily resulting from privateness issues and a scarcity of belief of third-party companies. When you have purchased an Android telephone since early 2022, it probably comes preloaded with the app. Nonetheless, when you have an older system — or it doesn’t include the app preinstalled, you possibly can obtain Google Messages from the Play Retailer. No flat-out minimal necessities exist, and the app ought to work on any telephone purchased throughout the final 5 years.

Samsung Messages is unique to Samsung units and won’t work on telephones from every other model. Even for those who attempt to sideload the app utilizing an APK, the set up received’t full. Should you personal a Samsung telephone (ideally operating One UI), it’ll include the most recent app preinstalled. But when for some purpose it doesn’t, you possibly can obtain Samsung Messages from the Galaxy Retailer.

Notably, RCS options on each messaging apps will rely on assist out of your provider. Within the U.S., main suppliers, together with Verizon, AT&T, T-Cell, and Dash, assist RCS. As well as, you possibly can get pleasure from RCS with Google Fi and loads of pay as you go suppliers. At Google I/O, Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vp, introduced that RCS has over 800 million customers worldwide — a quantity that is still unique of Apple customers.

Google Messages vs. Samsung Messages: Which do you have to use?

The selection between Google Messages and Samsung will be overwhelming. Whereas we hope our comparability helps ease the choice, right here’s a fast recap that may enable you to decide the correct app.

Google Messages has turn out to be the default app for textual content messaging on Android. Regardless of being supposed to work primarily for SMS-based messaging, the app additionally facilitates sharing multimedia via a contemporary protocol referred to as RCS, just like Apple’s iMessage. Alongside textual content messages, RCS means that you can ship media in actual time. It additionally helps emoji reactions to messages, in addition to an prompt typing indicator. Apart from RCS, Google Messages mechanically organizes messages into classes that will help you separate conversations with individuals and companies. Lastly, it additionally provides good solutions, akin to prompts so as to add calendar occasions or reminders, powered by Google Assistant’s AI, whereas processing this information fully on the system.

Samsung Messages additionally helps RCS-based messaging, identical to Google Messages. Along with the common media codecs in Google Messages, Samsung Messages additionally helps customized stickers and GIFs via Samsung’s AR emojis — similar to Apple’s Memoji, however arrange manually — and Bitmoji. You additionally get the choice to customise the chat display for particular person conversations (or ). Lastly, you possibly can retrieve by chance deleted messages via the Recycle Bin, which isn’t out there on Google Messages.

So to sum it up, Google Messages ensures a wiser expertise via AI solutions and computerized group, whereas Samsung prioritizes personalization and integrating enjoyable options akin to AR stickers. You may select the correct app for your self based mostly on the options you want from an excellent messaging platform.

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