Samsung Confirms End of Messages App, Users Must Switch Now

Madhav BiradarApril 6, 2026

Millions of Galaxy users will need to switch messaging apps as Samsung has officially announced that it will discontinue its native Message app from July 2026, replacing it with Google Messages on Galaxy devices. In an official end-of-service notice, Samsung said the service will end and urged users to switch to Google Messages to send and receive rich messages. This change will affect many Samsung devices, especially smartwatches running on Tizen OS.

Over the last couple of years, Samsung’s Message app has lacked in many areas, with RCS being the main difference. Google Messages supports RCS, and recently, Apple has also started supporting it on its devices. Samsung Messages on these devices offered only basic text messaging, which created a significant gap in recent years.

It will not affect users who run Galaxy devices on Android 11 or older versions. On newer Galaxy devices, users can notice Google Messages as the default service. Other users can download the Google Messages app from the Play Store and sync all their existing text messages.

Written by

Madhav Biradar

Madhav Biradar is the Lead Software Analyst and Founder of TizenHelp. With over 13 years of experience tracking the evolution of Samsung’s ecosystem—from the early days of Tizen OS to the latest One UI Build & releases — specializes in firmware deconstruction and beta-cycle analysis. Based in India, he has personally tested every flagship Galaxy device since the Galaxy S2, providing readers with hands-on insights that go beyond standard spec sheets. Expertise: One UI Updates, firmware leaks, Samsung Firmware Deployment, Galaxy Ecosystem Integration, etc.