Google Messages vs Samsung Messages: Which App Should You Use?

So you’ve bought a new Samsung smartphone, and while going through the setup, you notice that there are two text messaging apps. Yes, Samsung offers its own basic utility apps in addition to Google’s counterparts, which is mandatory for Android phones. But which should you choose as your default option? We’ll answer it in this comparison of Google Messages vs Samsung Messages.

Design Layout and Interface

When talking about interfaces, they’re not too different from each other. Samsung messages reserve the top half for the unread message counter, and the bottom half for texts and conversations. This is because it follows One UI (Samsung’s Android skin) design philosophy of having one-hand-friendly menus. Google Messages takes up the whole page but, exclusively on Samsung devices, it adapts to the same one-handed look.

Where you may notice a difference is that Google Messages retains everything on a single page, but Samsung divides it into three. One for conversations and the other for contacts. The last is “Useful cards”. It includes upcoming events, payment reminders, transaction details, and promotional messages.

Samsung Messages also lets you create custom categories as well. This makes it easier to browse and find texts from your loved ones. Instead of sorting through a barrage of loan offers and new store-opening promotional messages. For this reason alone, I prefer Samsung Messages. Google Messages briefly added categories to the app but removed it for unknown reasons.

Both support dark themes, but Samsung goes for an all-black background, which is great for phones with AMOLED panels. It saves battery and looks more appealing than Google’s concrete gray theme. Though Google Messages will change colors depending on the color of your wallpaper, I am not a fan of the pastel color scheme, so I prefer to have it turned off. Overall, I think that Samsung Messages is definitely the better app in terms of design and interface.

Winner: Samsung Messages

Google Messages vs Samsung Messages: Conversation Screen

I have to say that Google’s conversation page feels more lively than Samsung’s. The message bubbles are bolder and brighter, and here, I can admit that the Material You theme does leave a charm. It’s like you are using a proper instant messaging app like Facebook Messenger. Which is what Google was aiming for.

Samsung’s UI feels pretty by the numbers at this point, I mean it is not bad, I don’t expect to be hanging around here after I am done reading the text. You can also apply a material theme here, it doesn’t sit well for some reason. The app also offers customization options to change background colors and manage chat bubble opacity. These are neat options to have, but aren’t enough.

The option to change chat bubble color is also available for Google Messages, and you can read our guide to learn how to do it.

Winner: Google Messages

App Messaging Features

First, let’s talk about features that you’ll find on both apps. You can send various types of attachments including images, videos, voice notes, audio, documents, and your current location. However, Samsung Messages also lets you share calendar events and notes from their Samsung Notes app. There’s this shared attachment option to revisit older media files easily.

Google Messages also benefits from its services, like it uses Google Maps to share your location or Google Drive to share cloud-stored files. Not just that, you can share GIFs and stickers on the app, though the notes option isn’t available. Remember, spam protection is available for both apps.

Apart from that, you will see smart suggestions when you receive a text. They will understand the context of the text and suggest some rudimentary responses based on them. On the other side, you can only pick from available templates to use for quick responses. Google lets you delete one-time passwords after 24 hours, and Samsung offers to delete older messages once you reach a threshold.

Winner: Both

Google Messages vs Samsung Messages: RCS Features

RCS or Rich Communications Service allows for seamless and end-to-end encrypted messaging similar to iMessage and WhatsApp. It allows for features like typing indicators, read receipts, sending large media files, message reactions, and an overall rich texting experience.

Google Messages puts it front and center, taking advantage of it in every way possible. As someone who’s been using RCS since it came out, it is a lot improved now than it used to be. If you are coming from an iPhone, then this will feel much closer to iMessage. Plus, you can still talk to your iOS buddies as Apple is set to support it with iOS 18 later this year.

Both Google and Samsung Messages have support for RCS, but Samsung only allows it on limited carriers, whereas it is supported for every carrier on Google. I tried using RCS on Samsung, but it didn’t work out. Also, you won’t find as many features that take advantage of RCS as you would on Google Messages. Making it the defacto winner.

Winner: Google Messages

AI Features

Yep, it’s 2024, and you can’t have a single conversation without AI being a part of it. Well, earlier this year, Google introduced their Gemini AI model in Google Messages. This lets you talk directly to the chatbot, ask it to generate images, or get info on a particular subject. Maybe, if you can’t come up with some good pickup lines, then ask the AI for some.

Other AI features include the ability to create transcripts of voice notes. This feature is the most compelling to me, as I don’t want to play a random voice note when I’m commuting or in the office. So I can read its content before playing it out. There’s a photomoji feature as well, which creates a cut of you from a photo to use as a sticker and send it to your friends.

More such features are coming in the future. So it’s suffice to say, if you want cool new AI-oriented features in your messaging app, then Google is the obvious choice. Samsung Messages doesn’t boast anything like this and won’t probably get it in the coming future.

Winner: Google Messages

Google Messages vs Samsung Messages: Our Verdict

Samsung hasn’t improved its messaging app over the years as much as it should have. Probably because they weren’t planning to establish their instant messaging service to take on the likes of Apple and Meta. It is a simple, text messaging app with a few good options and customizations sprinkled on top. And that’s what you’ll get with the Samsung Messages app.

Google Messages offers a comprehensive messaging experience, all thanks to RCS. You get end-to-end encryption, a better UI, and a bunch of AI features. It’s a better option in every way and the one you should be using if you ask me. Plus, given Samsung’s recent announcement that they’ll be dropping their messaging app in favor of Google’s, there won’t even be an argument about which is the better app.