Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Verizon is shutting down Verizon Messages and its Message Plus app, with total discontinuation scheduled for November 7, 2024.
- Thanks to RCS adoption on iPhones, there is little reason left for Verizon to compete in the messaging app space.
- Verizon recommends users switch to Google Messages and Apple Messages.
The rollout of RCS on iPhones with the iOS 18 update is changing the messaging landscape in the US. iPhone users can now finally send RCS messages to Android users, and in return, we are seeing greater consolidation between messaging apps. At first, Samsung dropped its Samsung Messages app in favor of Google Messages. Now, even Verizon is shutting down its Message Plus app in favor of Google’s messaging app.
Users will no longer be able to use the Message Plus app to send and receive messages, and you won’t be able to see or download the Message Plus app in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Any previously scheduled Message Plus messages intended to be sent after its full discontinuation will not be sent.
Verizon says that the reason for the discontinuation of Message Plus is pretty much RCS. It recommends users switch to Google Messages, which is now preloaded on all Verizon Android devices. And with iOS 18, iPhone users can also use the Apple Messages app to send RCS messages to Android users.
Samsung’s reasoning for dropping Samsung Messages was also RCS. Samsung contended that even if messaging apps follow the RCS standard, availability may be limited depending on which app the other party uses. Thus, Samsung favored Google Messages as the common messaging platform on Android.
Consolidation of Android messaging apps in favor of Google Messages seems to be an unintended side effect of RCS adoption on iPhones. However, looking at their popularity, it’s unlikely that too many people are affected. Still, there’s a good chance that your parents or grandparents are using one of these apps and will have to switch to Google Messages. Choice is good, and we hope RCS doesn’t end up causing even further consolidation in the Android messaging apps space.
