Samsung may opt for Google’s messaging app to avoid creating too much confusion in the industry. Aiding the move is SMS 2.0
Samsung’s proprietary Messages app may soon disappear from the Korean manufacturer’s devices. The rumor comes from Reddit, where a user claiming to be a Samsung engineer said that the company is thinking about replacing its application with Google Messages.
According to this user, moreover, the choice would be caused by the need to reduce the “headaches” in implementing the new RCS protocol within the Messages app. The RCS standard, also known as SMS 2.0, has been strongly sponsored for about a year by both Samsung and Google, and has been fully active in France and the UK as well as the US for a few days now. The goodbye to Samsung’s Messages app, however, is still news that is yet to be confirmed and could be disproved in the future. For sure, at least at the moment, there is no official communication about it from the company.
Why Samsung might take away the Messages app
Already in mid-September 2018 Samsung and Google, in a joint note, made official their support for RCS (Rich Communication Services) technology on Android. As the note states “The collaboration will ensure that Google Messages and Samsung Messages will work together seamlessly and via RCS.” However, at the time we were still talking about two separate apps that managed to communicate with each other thanks to a shared standard. Now, however, there’s talk of Samsung’s app being eliminated in favor of Google’s.
What the RCS standard is
Rich Communication services are services that “enhance” the regular SMS system, allowing it to overcome its current limitations. An RCS messaging app is, in practice, almost identical to a chat app like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Telegram. The 160-character limit is exceeded, you can chat with Wi-Fi coverage, create group chats and exchange multimedia messages with photos and videos.
The implementation of RCS messaging on smartphones is done via standard APIs, so all Android devices in theory can become compatible with this new messaging system. GSMA, the association that represents the interests of more than 750 mobile operators worldwide and is helping to develop RCS technology, has already announced a business version of the service that will allow, for example, the use of bots in conversations with users/customers.