RCS gets a boost as US Galaxy S22 models set Google Messages as the default

What you need to know

• Google Messages is the default messaging app for the Samsung Galaxy S22 series in the United States.
• Last year, the Galaxy S21 series included Google Messages as the default service in Europe and regions.
• Google Messages supports RCS messaging in addition to traditional SMS and MMS texting.

Google Messages isn't the first messaging app from Google, by a longshot, but it is the one that is gaining the most traction, and that is in large part to the implementation of RCS messaging. The good news is that starting with the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, Google Messages is the default messaging app in the United States. Alongside 9to5Google, we have confirmed that this is the case on our Galaxy S22 review samples.

In the US, all of the best Android smartphones are using Google Messages as the default — except Samsung. Though Samsungs own service supports RCS, it was at the mercy of the US carriers to allow it to operate properly. With last year's Galaxy S21 lineup, Samsung set Google Messages as the default in Europe and other regions outside of the US and at the same time pre-installed its own Samsung Messages.

Using RCS brings added security to mobile messaging, but it also offers a bunch of features like typing indicators, the ability to send larger files, read receipts, reactions, and more.

Image 1 of 3

As seen in the images above, Google Messages looks the same on the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. However, looking at the image of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, it is quite different with flavors of Samsung's One UI 4. Whether this visual difference will make its way to other Samsung devices beyond the S21 and S22 is unclear, but the sentiment remains the same that Google Messages becoming more widely accessed.

That has good implications for RCS, which has been in public discourse lately due to Apple's lack of support for the growing standard. That said, major U.S. carriers have all announced Google Messages as the default on their newer Android phones in another major push for the service.