The best Android app is the one I never use

Last week I did something I rarely do. I sent an RCS text over Google Messages. This wasn't because I use SMS messages; it's because I live in Europe, where WhatsApp is the primary messaging app for most people.

It makes sense; data plans are cheap, and using WhatsApp makes international travel a breeze. However, I resent the monopoly Meta has over our messaging.

Using WhatsApp instead of SMS or RCS is a matter of convenience. It's the easiest way to text anyone outside the US, and the experience is the same regardless of what device you use or where you're texting from.

That's why it's used far more than iMessage or FaceTime.

WhatsApp is the most convenient way to text, but it's not the best.

RCS should be the standard for all texting. Then the competition would be on who can provide the best RCS app, in which case I would stick with Google Messages as it has the best range of features.

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It's probably time we moved on from the old SMS standard

Posts 15
By  Faith Leroux
May 17, 2025

I forgot how good Google Messages is

It was great years ago and is still improving

When I was preparing for my move from the US to the UK, one of my first steps was to set up WhatsApp on my phone.

When my plane touched down, Google Messages was swiftly relegated from its pinned spot on my home screen to the app drawer. In subsequent years, I mainly used it for two-factor authentication and checking tracking numbers for orders.

However, my use of it spiked when I recently struck up a friendship with someone who refuses to use WhatsApp. Thus, I properly rediscovered Google Messages, and it blew me away with its features.

RCS texting unlocks many of Google Messages' useful features, like high-quality media sharing and read receipts. These features are already available on instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, so this isn't the reason I love Google Messages so much.

Nevertheless, it's nice to be reminded that Google Messages isn't behind instant messaging apps with regard to these basic features.

WhatsApp's UI is effective, but Meta doesn't lavish the same care and attention on its apps as Google.

Even before I started rediscovering features, using Material 3 Expressive on Google Messages made me realize how dated other instant messaging apps were.

Google Messages is packed with useful features

I rarely use an app that's this user-friendly

While I keep up to date on the latest developments in Google's apps, it's hard to maintain awareness when you don't use the app every day. Thus, my recent poking around in the app unearthed all sorts of features I had forgotten about.

Scheduled messaging is a feature that I sorely miss on other messaging apps. I'm terrible at replying to messages, but I feel bad about replying in the dead of night.

Thus, I tell myself to respond in the morning. Unsurprisingly, I regularly forget, and the message goes unanswered for days.

Other features like auto-deletion of one-time passwords (disappointingly unavailable in the UK) and spam protection help keep your inbox tidy. Swipe to archive, delete, or mark as read is another tool I can't believe isn't on more apps.

Google isn't slowing down on updates. An upcoming change will allow you to pin up to 20 messages in the app, which is already more than can fit on most phone screens.

This update will include group chats. Another update will allow you to switch SIMs from a long press in the text field.

All these features add up to an experience that's miles ahead of WhatsApp and similar instant messaging apps. I just wish Google Messages weren't held back by one fatal flaw.

RCS is Wi-Fi compatible, but it's too temperamental

I'm not surprised we don't use Google Messages more, but I am disappointed

Using RCS over Google Messages is a far better experience than most instant messaging apps, and it works over Wi-Fi and a data connection. So why isn't it skyrocketing in popularity?

RCS is a messaging protocol that anyone can use, so you aren't locked to a single app. If you decide you don't like Google Messages, you can switch to another app without losing out on RCS features.

One of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption of RCS was iMessage, but in September 2024, Apple added RCS support to the app. Theoretically, nothing is stopping us from switching en masse to RCS messaging, except the limited availability of the standard.

While AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon support RCS messaging, many of their associated Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) do not support RCS.

In the UK, one of the biggest carriers is Vodafone, which also doesn't support RCS. This means that you might not be able to use RCS when texting someone with the same device in the same country.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Google Messages is not as frequently used when millions of people are locked out of its most useful features.

I love Google Messages, and I wish I could use it more

I've tried to use Google Messages more, but the stranglehold of WhatsApp and the inconsistency of RCS have forced me to concede defeat every single time.

Nevertheless, every time I'm able to use it, I'm impressed by how Google has crafted the best messaging app on the Play Store.

I also appreciate how I can completely disable Gemini's AI assistant in the app, something Meta needs to let us do in WhatsApp.