The Google Messages app just hit a major milestone: 1 billion downloads on the Play Store, in less than a year after reaching half as many installs.
While it's not really uncommon for Google apps to surpass the billion mark, considering that many of them come pre-installed on Android phones, but the Google Messages app is a little of a different story.
Google Messages is not part of the GMS (Google Mobile Services) package, meaning that the app may not be pre-installed on any OEM devices, allowing most manufacturers to ship their phones with their own texting app instead of this one.
From Samsung phones, LG, OnePlus and others, for example, they have their own messaging app, and Google Messages isn't one of them.
Instead, Google Messages is only installed on Google-made phones, like the Pixel phones or the Android One devices.
To be clear, there are not a billion Google-made phones out there, so clearly, Google has succeed in making Messages the popular alternative to the many messaging apps for the wider Android user base.
"Meet Messages, Google's official app for texting (SMS, MMS) and chat (RCS). Message anyone from anywhere with the reliability of texting and the richness of chat. Stay in touch with friends and family, send group texts, and share your favorite pictures, GIFs, emoji, stickers, videos and audio messages," wrote Google on the app's page on Google Play.
One of the most notable feature on Messages, is the RCS.
What it does, it allows users to send and receive messages over WI-Fi or data if supported by carriers, see when friends are typing or when they've read messages, send media files, and more.
Messages also has a built-in markup tool, reminders, instant notifications feature, smart replies, context-aware recommendations, a dark mode, and a web interface.
Users can even send or receive payments right from the app through Google Pay.
Most of these features are yet to become available in other messaging apps by competitors, especially the ones created and pre-installed on competitors' phones.
This makes Messages particularly popular. In fact, the app was praised by users that it received 4.5 stars from almost 3 million reviewers.
By surpassing 1 billion downloads, Google is showing that it is capable of marketing Messages as the popular alternative to OEM's, with an impressive number of people finally chose to replace their default messaging app with this one.
