After years of hard work and promotion by Google, RCS (Rich Communication Solutions) has finally made a breakthrough recently: Samsung announced that Google Messages will be the default application in the United States. Samsung users can use the Google Messages app, but it doesn’t come pre-installed. Samsung prefers to use its own “Samsung Messages” app for SMS, MMS, and in some limited cases, RCS.
That started to change last year, as the Galaxy S21 series (and later the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Fold 3) shipped Google Messages as the default messaging app in Europe and elsewhere.
Starting with the Galaxy S22 series, the Google Messages app is pre-installed by default on Galaxy series phones sold in the US. Samsung Messages is still installed on the phone by default, but users must actively choose to switch to the app.