RCS messaging is the new hotness, and it’s so popular that Verizon is shutting down its popular Verizon Messages and Message Plus apps. According to Verizon’s FAQ page, the apps are being shut down because the company wants you to have “the best messaging experience.”
In other words, now that RCS messaging is readily available between Android and iOS platforms, there’s no need for a third-party application to fill in the gap. Verizon says that Google Messages provides an overall better experience, comes preloaded on all Verizon Android devices, and is able to interact with Apple Messages, too.
This isn’t the first time a service has been shut down since RCS rolled out. Samsung also dropped support for its Samsung Messages app for Google Messages, so Verizon is just hopping on the bandwagon ahead of the curve; inevitably, Google Messages will eventually become more widely adopted.
Verizon Messages began shutting down yesterday, October 2, and will fully shut down on November 7.
It’s always a bummer when your preferred app shuts down, but this won’t leave much of a gap in the market. As stated before, Google Messages is well on its way to becoming the default, go-to app for sending messages on Android. Further, with iOS 18 launching last month, iPhone users can also now send RCS messages to Android users.
Sure, the shutdown of Samsung Messages and Verizon Messages is likely an unintended consequence of the adoption of RCS messaging, but it isn’t a bad thing. Fewer apps mean less to keep track of, and in 2024, we shouldn’t need a half dozen apps just to text back and forth.