AT&T gets Google Messages as its default Android texting app
The Apple iMessage-like platform will become the go-to for AT&T's customers.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Google's Messages app keeps adding more features.
AT&T has agreed to make Google Messages its default texting application for all Android customers in the US, Google said Wednesday. The move follows T-Mobile adding Google Messages as its default Android messaging platform back in March. Verizon hasn't yet followed suit.
Google Messages comes with features similar to those in Apple's iMessage, using Rich Communication Services, or RCS, technology to replace the SMS-based texts that've been around for decades now.
Read more: Don't be jealous of iMessage. Here's how to use Google's fancy Chat feature on Android phones
Some of its features include sending and receiving full-resolution pictures and higher-quality videos; seeing when someone is typing to reply to a message; sending and receiving messages over Wi-Fi and data; and easier group chats. Google said it's also adding end-to-end encryption for one-on-one Messages conversations between people.
Google Messages is also the default app on the Samsung Galaxy S21 and most Android phones.