The relationship between SMS messages and us have completed almost 25 years, and yet this relationship hasn’t reached its peak point but created an exceptional experience for us. Mobile App Development Companies are doing well on message applications to cut-off the communication dilemmas from both sending and receiving sides.
Be that as it may, for now SMS is still necessary on Android. Since Hangouts stopped including them, the official Google application is Android Messages, but it is certainly not the only one and it may not be the best either. Here you will find eight alternatives to send and receive SMS on Android.
Your pre-installed messaging app
Unless your mobile came with Hangouts as a pre-installed message application, it is most likely that it has an SMS message application “from home.” Sometimes when looking for alternatives we jump to Google Play without bothering to look at what we already have, and this could be one of those cases.
Almost all companies add their own built-in SMS application. Sometimes it includes special features like floating messages or prerecorded replies, while other times it is more like the AOSP SMS reader.
The good thing about pre-installed messaging apps is that they are free and have no intention of making money from them, so they don’t have ads, Pro versions, or the like. Some manufacturers put their applications on Google Play for anyone to download, such as ASUS.
Android Messages
Android Messages is the application formerly known as Messenger and the official replacement for SMS in Hangouts. For years, Messenger has competed with its brother Hangouts to get hold of your SMS until in the end there was only one left, Android Messages.
As an SMS application, Android Messages is acceptable. It stands out mainly for its Material Design interface and for also serving as an RCS messaging client (or Chat) in compatible markets. Without RCS it is still interesting, although it can be a bit simple.
Facebook Messenger
You probably didn’t expect to find an application as heavy and poorly optimized as Messenger on this list, but let me explain. If you already have Facebook Messenger installed and you use it to talk to your friends on Facebook, why not use it for your SMS as well?
Understandably, I would not suggest installing Facebook Messenger just to see and type SMS, since the SMS option is not wrong in itself, but it is complex and inadequately combined when mixed with the rest of Messenger conversations. After all, as Hangouts has learned the hard way, mixing SMS with other things has never really worked out.
Signal
From Facebook Messenger we go more or less to the opposite. If the Facebook application is famous for saving your SMS, Signal is one of the safest messaging applications. SMS messages in Signal are not particularly safe, but you have the advantage of being able to do everything from the same application.
To take full advantage of Signal’s security protection, you need to use your own messaging instead of SMS (and that both you and the other person use Signal), but you have the advantage of being able to use the same app for both types of communications , something you can’t do with WhatsApp, Telegram or LINE. The app itself has improved lately, reaching the level of other SMS apps, although it is not as complete as the veteran Textra or ChompSMS.
Skype lite
Continuing in the same vein as in the previous alternative, Skype Lite is another communication application that includes the SMS message function as an addition. In this case, at least, it is a lightweight and easier to use application, even when it mixes two types of messaging.
In Skype Lite, what are SMS and what are Skype messages is clearly differentiated , which together with a simple and fast interface make it a good alternative. If you do SMS messages too much, it may not influence you so much, but oppositely, it is a choice to think. It started in India but is now available in more countries. If it does not appear in Google Play, you will always have the APK.
Textra SMS
We could not miss in our list the one that for many is the best SMS application for Android, Textra SMS. Textra has everything you could ask for from an SMS application, and more. It features prerecorded responses, Android Wear and Android Auto support, dual SIM support, and much more.
Another point where Textra SMS stands out is personalization. With over a hundred themes, light and dark themes, different bubble styles, and the latest Unicode 9, you can configure it to display exactly how you like it. Textra is an application suitable for those who use SMS frequently.
Chomp SMS
Another of the most famous SMS applications, by the same author, is also Chomp SMS. Chomp is easier to use than Textra, as the interface is more simplified and in a way resembles that of Android Messages.
Chomp SMS shares with Textra capabilities customization (also includes more than a hundred songs and a number of configuration settings). It is suitable for those who are looking for an application halfway between the complexity between Android Messages and Textra.
AwSMS
We end our list with a relatively unknown application, AwSMS. It is a simple application with a nice and colorful interface reminiscent of Android Messages and Chomp.
AwSMS involves immediate replies from the notification, a pretty amount of customization choices, support for Android Wear, night mode, various varieties of messages and themes, although it needs support for Dual SIM.
