Observe these steps to modify your default Android textual content messaging app

One of many lesser-appreciated options of Google’s Android mobile operating system is the flexibility to modify your default apps with out fuss. Your default net browser, telephone app, caller ID and spam app, digital assistant app, home app, and Brief Message Service (SMS) texting app are all simply interchangable with third-party options.

There are a lot of, many reasons to be critical of Google, however I am going to give credit score the place credit score is due: the tech large has carried out a fairly good job of constructing Android a versatile OS, messaging apps included. For those who’re questioning the way to make the swap to a third-party text messaging app, otherwise you merely wish to check out one thing that is not Google Messages, then all it’s going to take is a few purposeful display screen faucets.

The right way to swap out your default SMS texting app on Android

Your entire course of solely takes a number of moments to finish

As a way to swap from one Android texting app to another one, comply with these steps:

1. Obtain a third-party textual content messaging app from the Google Play Store, if you happen to do not have already got one put in in your Android telephone.
2. Find this third-party texting app from inside your telephone’s app drawer, and faucet on its icon to launch the software program.
3. Instantly, you will be greeter with a splash display screen. You will wish to faucet on the Set default SMS app button.
4. From the listing introduced, faucet on the textual content messaging app of your selection.
5. Faucet on Set as default.

And identical to that, whichever texting app you’ve got chosen will begin working as your new default — it’s going to mechanically replace and sync up all of your present textual content message threads, with no extra enter required. The method to return to your beforehand chosen texting app is equivalent, however merely in reverse.

For those who’re on the lookout for some wonderful third-party messaging app suggestions, Pocket-lint has a dedicated article on the subject. Briefly, some in style choices embody:

Associated

Apple’s rollout of RCS in iOS 18 has not been a success

The introduction of RCS in Apple’s newest replace has not unified messaging between Android and iOS in the way in which many had been anticipating.

Google is the undisputed chief in relation to fashionable Android textual content messaging

That being mentioned, third-party SMS apps nonetheless have their place available in the market

In recent times, we have seen Google push aggressively to make its personal Messages app the de facto texting expertise on Android. The tech large has emphasised its personal implementation of the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol, and has brokered offers with giants like Samsung to include the service on new phones by default.

In actual fact, because it at present stands, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) or ‘vanilla’ model of Android doesn’t even have an actively maintained app for messaging family and friends. As an alternative, it is as much as smartphone OEMs and third-party builders to fill the Google-sized void within the room.

Fortunately, whereas the present choice of various SMS apps is not large, the out there choices are nonetheless being recurrently up to date. If the newer RCS texting commonplace continues to achieve trade prominence — and it’s a safe bet that it’ll do so — then I can envision an eventual RCS-powered renaissance within the Android texting app scene.

After all, as a prerequisite, this may require Google to open up its distinctive taste of the RCS protocol to third-parties within the type of a developer API. In the interim, the vast majority of texting apps on Android fall into one among two camps: people who depend on the now-ancient SMS commonplace, and people funded by deep pockets that may afford to construct proprietary messaging applied sciences à la WhatsApp, Discord, and others.

Associated

Apple takes Messages to the next level with scheduled send and more fun features

It is not AI-centric, however these new iOS 18 iMessage options boast extra environment friendly, personality-filled communication.