SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2026, 13:08 PDT
- Beta code in Google Messages points to photo backgrounds and separate bubble-color controls.
- Samsung says Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July 2026 in the United States and users should move to Google Messages.
- Google’s current theming options in Messages are limited to preset RCS chat themes.
Google appears to be adding Samsung-style chat themes to Messages as Samsung prepares to retire its own texting app in the United States in July. Android Authority said code in the latest beta build points to photo backgrounds, a “Custom” theme section and separate controls for backgrounds and bubble colors. Android Authority
The timing matters because Samsung has told U.S. users that Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July 2026 and directed them to Google Messages. The company also says Galaxy S26 and newer phones already cannot download Samsung Messages from the Galaxy Store.
That leaves one gap for longtime Samsung users. Google’s help pages say Messages currently lets people change preset themes for the background and message bubbles in RCS chats, but it does not let them upload personal images as chat wallpapers.
Samsung’s app has long gone further. Android Authority noted Samsung Messages could use gallery images as chat backgrounds, while Samsung-focused site Sammy Fans pointed to Good Lock’s Theme Park, a Samsung customization tool, for bubble-color, contrast and wallpaper-based tweaks.
If Google ships the feature, it would bring Messages closer to rivals that already offer more visual customization. Apple’s support pages for iOS 26 say iMessage users can add dynamic backgrounds or photos from their library, and WhatsApp says users can pick preset themes or upload a background from the camera roll.
Samsung has framed the wider switch around RCS, or Rich Communication Services, the newer texting standard that adds read receipts, typing indicators, better group chats and higher-quality media sharing. In a November note, Patrick Chomet, Samsung’s head of customer experience for mobile, said the company had worked with Google on RCS “for years to provide users with a seamless, connected messaging experience,” while Sameer Samat, Google’s president of Android Ecosystem, said Samsung had been “instrumental in the growing adoption of RCS.” Samsung Global Newsroom
The move also further centers Android messaging on Google’s app after Samsung spent years backing away from its in-house service. Samsung’s support page says users on Android 11 or older are not affected by the end-of-service notice, but devices released before 2022 may see temporary disruption in ongoing RCS chats during the switch.
There are still reasons to be careful. Android Authority said its findings came from an APK teardown — a look at work-in-progress code inside a test build — and warned the feature may never reach public release.
The transition may also be uneven on older hardware. Samsung says Tizen-based watches launched before Galaxy Watch4 will lose full conversation history after Samsung Messages is retired, even though they will still be able to read and send texts.
For now, Samsung is telling users to open or download Google Messages and make it the default SMS app. Once Samsung Messages is discontinued, the company says messages sent through that app will no longer go out, except to emergency service numbers or emergency contacts stored on the device.
