Samsung says it’s shutting down Samsung Messages in the U.S. in July 2026. For a lot of Galaxy owners, that means the texting app they’ve used for years is finally going away, and Samsung is making its move to Google Messages official.
If you’ve got a Galaxy device in the U.S. running Android 12 or newer, Samsung wants you to switch to Google Messages. If you’re still on Android 11 or older, Samsung says you’re not being forced off right away, and your chat history should transfer automatically. Some older threads might not show up immediately, though. Samsung says it can take up to 24 hours for them to appear.
This has been coming for a while. Samsung has been aligning more closely with Google, and the change also matches the broader push toward Rich Communication Services, or RCS. That’s what gives you higher-quality photos and videos, read receipts, typing indicators, better group chats, and stronger messaging over data. Samsung has already been moving in this direction since Google Messages became the default on Galaxy S21 phones, and then stopped pre-installing Samsung Messages on new flagship phones in 2024.
Now that Apple supports RCS on the iPhone too, messaging between Android and iPhone should keep getting better. Still, some people are going to miss Samsung Messages, whether it’s the interface, a feature they preferred, or just plain habit. Samsung also hasn’t shared any timeline for regions outside the U.S. If you still rely on Samsung Messages, this is probably something to get ahead of now.
You can download Google Messages from the Google Play Store or use the prompts Samsung shows on your device. Just don’t grab it from some fake download link.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
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