A clear end-of-service announcement has been published on Samsung’s U.S. support website, stating that “the Samsung Messages app will be discontinued in July 2026. Switch to Google Messages as your default messaging app today to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.” For the rest of the world, the statement clarifies that this is “applicable to the U.S. market only,” at least for now.
Affected owners of Samsung smartphones and other devices are being advised to transition to Google Messages.
All Samsung Galaxy phones operate on Google’s Android operating system. To facilitate the switch to Google Messages, Samsung’s website provides instructions on how to download the application from the Play Store (if not already present on their phone) and set it as the default app. Some users may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through the process.
According to Samsung, switching to Google Messages will grant users access to updates such as Google’s latest Gemini artificial intelligence features and the ability to share higher-quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices via RCS-compatible messages.
Users on older Android operating systems (Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the discontinuation of Samsung Messages. Conversely, owners of Samsung’s latest Galaxy 26 line and other newer phones are already unable to download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store. After its official shutdown in July 2026, no device will be able to download Samsung Messages.