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1. What is happening to Samsung Messages?
Samsung is discontinuing its Samsung Messages texting app in July, according to an end-of-service announcement on its U.S. support website. Users of newer devices can no longer download the app from the Galaxy Store, and all devices will lose the ability to download it once it’s officially shut down.
2. What are Samsung users being asked to do instead?
Samsung is directing affected users to switch to Google Messages as their default texting app, providing instructions to download it from the Play Store and set it as the default. Some users may also receive an in-app notification walking them through the transition.
3. Why is Samsung making this change?
Samsung says Google Messages offers access to newer features, including Google Gemini artificial intelligence tools, such as the “Remix” image-generation feature and AI-powered reply suggestions, as well as the ability to share higher-quality photos between Android and Apple devices via RCS messaging.
4. Will this affect all Samsung users?
No — users running Android 11 or older will not be impacted by the discontinuation. To check which version of Android a Samsung device is running, users can navigate to Settings, then “Software Information,” and look for “Android version.”
5. Does this apply to Samsung users outside the United States?
That’s unclear. Samsung did not immediately respond to questions about whether the same guidance applies globally, so international users should monitor their local Samsung support pages for updates.
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