Samsung quietly revives its Messages app with a satellite feature

Published on 11 Aug 2025
-
Updated on 12 Aug 2025

Youssef

A true Swiss army knife, Youssef has a fairly wide range of skills. Officially Growth Manager, he is also involved in the production of content for the site and the presence of planhub on social networks. Here, Youssef dissects all the mobile and internet news for you.

Stay connected! Subscribe to the PlanHub newsletter, twice a month we send you all the current news and good deals.

The Samsung Messages app is making a comeback. Contrary to appearances, the South Korean giant never abandoned its in-house messaging solution and is now preparing a feature that could change the game: emergency SMS via satellite.

Find the Cell Phone plan that fits your needs and budget on PlanHub.ca!

An unexpected revival

All signs seemed to point to abandonment. Yet, Samsung had removed its app from the Play Store, disabled RCS, and pushed Google Messages on its new devices. However, the Korean company is actually working on several improvements: birthday reminders, location sharing, emoji reactions, and Now Brief, an alert system for suspicious messages.

Additionally, a user recently uncovered revealing code in version 16.1.02.2 of the app. Samsung appears to be developing a satellite mode limited to SMS only, without support for multimedia files or RCS. This approach echoes Apple’s strategy with iPhones and suggests Samsung is preparing full satellite connectivity integration for its Galaxy devices.

Towards a strategic repositioning

The arrival of universal RCS on iOS 18 could free Samsung from its reliance on Google. This development paves the way for a possible return of Samsung Messages as the default app on Galaxy smartphones. By developing exclusive features and leveraging its native integration, Samsung could turn its long-neglected app into a credible alternative.

Satellite messaging might be just the first step in a broader strategy to reclaim ground lost to Google.