Calling can be a chore; trust me I know. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you made a call? How often have you been texting for the past two years? So most people have opted to texting and it has evolved in a whole lot of ways. So, I decided to make a list of the best texting apps for android out there.
It is important to clarify that texting is not limited to SMS alone; that is a gross misconception. It cuts across every IM (Instant Messaging) app out there; yes, Facebook Messenger is inclusive. So without any further ado, here they are:
BEST TEXTING APPS FOR ANDROID
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Textra SMS
Textra SMS is definitely a good alternative if you are looking to replace you native SMS app with something more aesthetically pleasing and comes packed with more features.
FEATURES OF TEXTRA SMS
- Material design which makes it really pretty
- Full MMS support
- Reply to messages via pop-ups similar to heads up notifications
- Free but with in app purchases
- Support for Mighty Text, Push Bullet – we’ll get to those in a bit; and android wear.
You can download Textra SMS here [appbox googleplay com.textra]
2. CHOMP SMS
Chomp SMS packs a whole lot of features and I don’t think you can go wrong with this one. Coupled with the fact that it has been around for a while and has chosen to follow trend by adopting material design, it is worth having. See what Chomp SMS has to offer
FEATURES OF CHOMP SMS
- Emoji support
- Full SMS support
- Material Design
- SMS blocking
- Group Chat
- Reply in Notification
- Stop a message mid-send
- Pushbullet and Android wear support
You can download Chomp SMS from the playstore. [appbox googleplay com.p1.chompsms]
3. Hello SMS
Hello SMS is one of the easiest SMS apps out there in terms of ease of use. Plus it comes with a bunch of neat features that make texting less of a chore.
FEATURES OF HELLO SMS
- Reply directly from notification
- Theme support
- Emoji support
- Group Chat
- Time stamp in messages
Like what you’ve seen? Unfortunately, for reasons unkown, this app seems to no longer be on the Play Store, but we got you the direct apk link. Well, go on and download Hello SMS here.
4. Handcent SMS
I will not say so much as regards Handcent SMS, I would just let the features speak for themselves. Although, it is important to note that it does have one little flaw: It lags. Not something that would make it unusable but is sure is noticeable. So if, that is a deal breaker for you, there are a still a lot more you could peruse before making your choice. But, I would advice you see what Handcent has to offer before dismissing it entirely.
FEATURES OF HANDCENT SMS
- MMS support
- Handcent anywhere: what this does is let you text even from your computer with plugins like pushbullet.
- It offers syncing so you never lose your text messages again.
- Private Box: Lets you password protect your text messages from prying eyes and hands.
As I mentioned earlier, the only flaw is the lag; and remember, that is a bug that can easily be fixed with updates.
I would recommend you check it out before passing any judgement. [appbox googleplay com.handcent.app.nextsms]
5. GO SMS PRO
Although it has the “pro” tag, Go SMS has a free version and I must say Go SMS is as old as I can remember. I believe it started from the days of Go Launcher. Anyone remembers Go Launcher? Anyways, Go SMS [pro or not] does a lot of cool things and I listed some below.
FEATURES OF GO SMS PRO
- MMS Support
- Cloud storage for SMS: Unlimited for pro users and a limit of 20MB for free users
- Supports themes
- Auto reply feature
- Block Spam messages
- Schedule SMS
Check out Go SMS Pro on the play store [appbox googleplay com.jb.gosms]
6. Signal Private Messenger
This is not a dedicated SMS appss; rather it serves as an IM (Instant Messenger) and also doubles as an SMS apps for texting contacts that do not have the app installed. Like every other Messaging app, it has a bunch of features that make it a worthy mention on this list.
FEATURES OF SIGNAL PRIVATE MESSENGER
- a regular texting app like Messenger, Telegram etc
- It sends SMS to contacts on your phone that do not have the app installed
- Material Design
- Completely free
- Open source
- Supports phone calls
You can check out Signal Private Messenger on the app store. [appbox googleplay org.thoughtcrime.securesms]
TEXTING FROM YOUR COMPUTER
I’m sure at least once we have been in that position where you are working on your PC and your phone beeps; then you are torn between: ignoring the beep and continuing your work OR attending to your phone and ruining your whole workflow and productivity. What if you could reply that text and not leave your PC? Well, most of these apps actually support desktop plugins which let you reply messages either from a browser or a dedicated app. The ones supported by the above apps are:
- Mighty Text: Using this is pretty simple. What you do is install the Mighty Text app on your phone, then log on to the web app on your computer’s browser and start syncing. Quite easy, eh? You can get the mighty Text app from the play store.[appbox googleplay id=com.texty.sms]
- Pushbullet: This takes things a little further because it does more than just sync text messages from your phone. It also syncs all notifications from your mobile phone and displays it on your web browser through it’s applet. Note that for this to work, you have to install Pushbullet on your phone first. You can get it from the Play Store. [appbox googleplay com.pushbullet.android]
The next thing is to head on to the chrome web store and search for pushbullet. Link them up and, voila, you’re done!
Is your favorite text messaging app not on our list of the best texting apps for android? Then feel free to tell us which one you use.
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