NEW YORK — Samsung has announced the upcoming discontinuation of its proprietary messaging application, Samsung Messages.
As stated in a service termination notice on the company’s U.S. support website, the app will cease operations in July. Users of Samsung smartphones and other devices are encouraged to transition to Google Messages in order to ensure a seamless messaging experience on the Android platform.
All Samsung Galaxy devices operate on Google’s Android system. For those interested in switching to Google Messages, Samsung’s website provides detailed instructions on how to download the app from the Play Store, assuming it is not already installed on their device, and how to set it as the default messaging application. Additionally, some users may receive prompts within the app to assist with this transition.
Samsung emphasized that transitioning to Google Messages will enable users to access the latest updates, including advanced artificial intelligence features offered by Google’s Gemini. This includes a new experimental feature called “Remix,” which allows users to create images during conversations, along with AI-generated reply suggestions. Furthermore, the app facilitates the sharing of higher-quality images between Android and Apple iOS devices through messages enabled by RCS.
Users with older versions of Android (specifically Android 11 or earlier) will remain unaffected by the discontinuation of Samsung Messages, according to the company. To verify the version of the Android operating system on a Samsung device, users can navigate to the settings app, select “software information,” and look for “Android version.”
Additionally, owners of the latest Galaxy 26 series and other recent models are currently unable to download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store.
Once the app is officially retired in July, all devices will no longer have the option to download Samsung Messages. Samsung has advised users to check their app for the specific date when the service will be terminated.
Samsung has not yet provided information regarding the global implications of this transition beyond the U.S.
