It turns out that Samsung preloads the Galaxy S21 with Google Messages in most markets, as Engadget learned in an interview with Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer yesterday. In doing so, Samsung is joining other OEMs like OnePlus, LG, and Motorola in using Google’s default messaging app. Sadly, in the United States, we are stuck with classic Samsung messages.

From the time-stamped interview link above, you can hear Lockheimer discussing the reasoning behind using Google Messages on a Samsung phone. He says it looks “native” because it’s tweaked slightly to work better with One UI, both aesthetically and functionally. Lockheimer goes on to mention that the United States, with “some exceptions”, will instead receive the Samsung Messages app. It’s worth noting that Samsung added Google’s RCS support to Samsung Messages last month, so there’s no real difference in functionality.

It is not known why Samsung decided to stick with Samsung Messages in the US, but maybe S21 US owners will be able to download the Google Messages APK file customized by Samsung.