After you’ve unwrapped and set up your new Galaxy S25, you may notice an app previously always installed on Samsung phones has disappeared. Samsung has stopped pre-installing its own Samsung Messages app, and handed cellular messaging duties solely over to Google. On the Galaxy S25, Google Messages is the only pre-installed, and therefore default, messaging app.
Samsung confirmed the action in an email to Android Authority, stating:
“With the close collaboration between Google and Samsung, we have opted to migrate all services to Google Messages and are sunsetting Samsung Messages. It’s no longer available in the Play Store; however, those who chose to utilize Samsung Messages are still able to do so. We believe that the added functionality of RCS messaging on Google Messages creates an enhanced user experience for both Android-to-Android messaging and across platforms.”
There’s no mention of the Samsung Messages app when you search for it in the Google Play Store, as expected, however the app is still available to download through Samsung’s own Galaxy Store on the Galaxy S25. The Galaxy Store version was updated on January 15, and the description provides several reasons why you shouldn’t download and use it instead of Google Messages.
The description reads:
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“This is a download-only Samsung Messages app, which has some limitations. It does not support Samsung Themes, it does not support features released after One UI 6.1.1, and it does not support RCS feature when using satellite mode.”
The switch to Google Messages isn’t a complete surprise. In July 2024 Samsung alerted Galaxy phone owners via its Samsung Members app that Samsung Messages wouldn’t be pre-installed on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, and Google Messages would take its place. The shift was only relevant in some regions, but with the Galaxy S25 it appears to be standard across all. Verizon encouraged Samsung phone owners to switch to Google Messages after the carrier announced Samsung Messages wouldn’t support RCS messaging from early 2025.
Whether Google Messages will replace Samsung Messages on other Galaxy phones when an update to One UI 7 arrives remains to be seen. If you would rather get ahead of any alteration, Google Messages is available to download through the Google Play Store now.
