Samsung discontinuing texting app, customers to change to Google Messages

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app.

According to an end of service announcement revealed on the tech big’s U.S. help web site, Samsung Messages shall be discontinued in July. Impacted homeowners of Samsung smartphones and different devices are being requested to change to Google Messages within the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google’s Android working system. To change to Google Messages, Samsung’s web site provides customers directions to obtain the app from the Play Store, if not already on their cellphone, and set it because the default. Some individuals might also obtain an in-app notification to information them by the method.

Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give customers entry to updates like the newest synthetic intelligence options from Google’s Gemini — which incorporates an experimental function referred to as “Remix” to generate photos throughout conversations and AI-powered reply strategies — and the flexibility to share increased high quality photographs between Android and Apple iOS gadgets by RCS-enabled messages.

Users of older Android working techniques (courting again to Android 11 or older) is not going to be impacted by the top of Samsung Messages, the corporate famous. To test what Android OS you have got on a Samsung system, open the settings app, click on on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”

Meanwhile, homeowners of Samsung’s newest Galaxy 26 lineup and different newer telephones can not obtain the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store as we speak.

All gadgets will not be capable to obtain Samsung Messages after it’s formally discontinued in July, the corporate famous. Samsung mentioned customers can test their app for the precise date for when service will go offline.

Beyond the U.S., Samsung didn’t instantly reply to a request for additional details about whether or not its steerage for Samsung Messages was the identical globally.