Messaging Tools: Samsung Messages vs Google Messages
Owning a Samsung device may have drawn your attention to the fact that Samsung Messages or Google Messages were pre-installed on it. As part of a growing collaboration with Google, Samsung is bringing the Messages app created by Google is more and more Galaxy phones.
- Let’s determine which app is the best based on its messaging tools.
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Both apps support sending emojis, stickers, and GIFs in addition to photographs, videos, audio files, and voice recordings. However, for some reason, Samsung Messages requires you to send stickers using Samsung Keyboard rather than Gboard. On both apps, you can schedule messages, add subject lines, share your location and contacts, and store draughts.
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Messages apps from Google and Samsung make it difficult to send films since their quality has been slashed to absurdly low levels, often to the point where the information is rendered incomprehensible. For sending videos, you’re therefore better off utilizing WhatsApp, Discord, or any other third-party messaging platform.
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Only Google Messages supports the sending of documents but it is limited to 307kb and the designation of messages as urgent. However, with Samsung Messages, you may share calendar events as text messages or as VCS files and send fast replies like “What’s up?” and “How are things going?” as well as other phrases like “Sorry, I missed your call.”
There are a few more features in Google Messages that make it a more appealing choice. There are a few helpful tools that provide in-conversation ideas depending on the context of your messages under the Suggestions tab.
To enable fast communication, features like Smart Reply and Suggested Actions can help you rapidly arrange events, share your location, attach recent images, or send GIFs.
YouTube is ending its cheaper “Premium Lite” plan that offered ad-free viewing for €6.99 per month. The plan was only available in some European countries including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden since mid-2021. This plan will be discontinued after 25 October 2023.
The “Premium Lite” plan did not include YouTube Music, offline downloads, or background playback, unlike the regular YouTube Premium plan. YouTube says the company is working on different versions of Premium Lite based on user feedback.
YouTube Premium recently increased its prices for individual plans to $13.99/month while family plans cost $22.99/month. YouTube has also been trying to block ad blockers on its platform.
Many users want a more affordable option to watch YouTube videos without ads. YouTube Premium Lite seemed to be a good solution, but it was not widely available. It is unclear if YouTube will launch a similar plan in the future.
Google is all set to launch its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, on October 4th. The devices will come with some impressive features, such as a brighter display, a durable design, and a powerful camera system. But perhaps the most notable feature is that both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro could offer OS and security updates for 7 years.
According to the 91Mobiles report, Google will offer 7 years of OS and security updates to Pixel 8 and 8 Pro devices. In addition, the all specs of the upcoming Google smartphone series have been revealed. You can check the specs below.
Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro Specs
Pixel 8
- Display: 6.2-inch FHD+ OLED display with 60Hz-120Hz refresh rate. Up to 2,000 nits peak brightness
- Processor: Google Tensor G3 with Titan M2 security coprocessor
- RAM and Storage: 8 GB LPDDR5X RAM, 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
- Battery and charging: 4,575mAh with up to 27W fast charging, Qi-certified wireless charging up to 18W
- Security and OS updates: 7 years of OS and security updates
- Cameras: 50MP Octa PD wide camera, ,12MP ultrawide camera, OIS and EIS on wide, 10.5MP Dual PD front camera
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC
- Material: Corning Gorilla Glas Victus cover and back, IP68 rating
- Others: Under-display fingerprint sensor, Face ID
Pixel 8 Pro
- Display: 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with 1Hz-120Hz refresh rate. Up to 2,400 nits peak brightness
- Google Tensor G3 with Titan M2 security coprocessor
- RAM and Storage: 8 GB LPDDR5X RAM, Up to 1TB in US and 512GB rest of the world, UFS 3.1
- Battery and charging: 5,050mAh with up to 30W fast charging, Qi-certified wireless charging up to 23W
- Security and OS updates: 7 years of OS and security updates
- Cameras: 50MP Octa PD wide camera, 48MP Quad PD ultrawide camera, 48MP, Quad PD telephoto camera with Super Rez Zoom up to 30x, OIS and EIS on wide and telephoto, 10.5MP Dual PD front camera
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.3, NFC
- Material: Corning Gorilla Glas Victus 2 cover and back, IP68 rating
- Others: Under-display fingerprint sensor, Face ID
The Pixel 8 series will also have some new video features, such as Video Boost, Light Sight, and Audio Eraser. The Pixel 8 will be available in Obsidian, Hazel, and Rose color options, while the Pixel 8 Pro will come in Obsidian, Porcelain, and Bay. The prices and availability of the devices are yet to be announced by Google.
Some Google Pixel and Samsung owners recently noticed that a useful feature of Smart Lock called Trusted Devices disappeared from their devices. Now, Google has fixed the Trusted devices missing issue and users can now again use this feature.
Smart Lock allows users to keep their phones unlocked when connected to a trusted Bluetooth device, such as a smartwatch or a car system. This feature is part of Smart Lock on Android 13 and older and is renamed to Extend Unlock on Android 14.
However, in recent days, many users have reported that the Trusted Devices option is no longer available in Smart Lock/Extend Unlock settings on Samsung and Pixel devices. They can only see On-body detection and Trusted places options. This issue seems to affect both Android 13 and 14 devices, regardless of the Google Play services version.
If you are still experiencing this issue on your device, check if there is a Google Play system update available. If yes then the update is now to enjoy a smooth and bug-free experience.
Aside from this, Google is also working on a new feature called Watch Unlock, which will let users unlock their phones with their smartwatches. However, this feature is not ready for public release yet.
