Samsung's Galaxy S22 phone has good news with Google Messages and RCS

Many people may start using Rich Communication Services (RCS), the new messaging standard that has had a long and messy rollout, as Google's Messages app appears to be the new messaging default for new Samsung devices. While the Galaxy S21 lineup shipped with Samsung Messages by default in the US last year, 9to5Google noticed that its Galaxy S22 Plus review unit had Google Messages set as the default, and the same was the case with The Verge's Galaxy . In the S22 Ultra review is the unit's case. as well.

RCS SMS offers a number of improvements over texting, such as typing indicators, read receipts, and the ability to share high resolution photos and large files, but it has taken years for adoption in the US. Google has largely led the charge and also introduced end-to-end encryption to its messaging app in June. But the big carriers have dragged their feet — when they agreed to replace SMS with RCS in 2019, we had to wait until 2021 for T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon to put Google Messages on our Android phones . To be the default messaging app for

Samsung phones make up a significant portion of Android phones sold in the US, so switching to Google Messages should be a boon to RCS adopters. Now all we need to do is board Apple's RCS train, which Google wants too.