Comply with 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 internet 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 alternate 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 big has finished a fairly good job of creating Android a versatile OS, messaging apps included. For those who’re questioning make the change to a third-party text messaging app, otherwise you merely wish to check out one thing that is not Google Messages, then all it will take is a few purposeful display screen faucets.

Easy methods to change out your default SMS texting app on Android

The complete course of solely takes a number of moments to finish

In an effort to change 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, for those who 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 may be greeter with a splash display screen. You may wish to faucet on the Set default SMS app button.
4. From the listing offered, faucet on the textual content messaging app of your alternative.
5. Faucet on Set as default.

And identical to that, whichever texting app you have chosen will begin working as your new default — it will mechanically replace and sync up all of your current textual content message threads, with no further enter required. The method to return to your beforehand chosen texting app is similar, however merely in reverse.

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

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Google is the undisputed chief relating to fashionable Android textual content messaging

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

Lately, we have seen Google push aggressively to make its personal Messages app the de facto texting expertise on Android. The tech big 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 truth, because it presently 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 a substitute, 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 huge, the obtainable choices are nonetheless being commonly up to date. If the newer RCS texting normal 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 intervening time, nearly all of texting apps on Android fall into considered one of two camps: those who depend on the now-ancient SMS normal, and people funded by deep pockets that may afford to construct proprietary messaging applied sciences à la WhatsApp, Discord, and others.

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