Samsung Messages has a feature called conversation categorization that helps address this. It brings structure to your inbox and turns that endless list into something you can actually manage.
SMS messages can seem boring, outdated, and mostly just a place to store confirmation codes and message delivery notifications. That's why, after a while, your inbox can become endlessly cluttered with bank notifications, spam advertising messages, and of course, private conversations.
Google Messages lets you pin important conversations to the top, but that only helps partially. After scrolling through a few of those pinned conversations, you're back to the same messy stream of messages, where there's no clear distinction between messages from friends and random spam. Samsung Messages has a feature called conversation categorization that fixes this. It brings structure to your inbox and turns that endless list into something you can actually manage.
Why is categorizing conversations useful?
The easiest way to control SMS clutter.
Unlike direct messages on WhatsApp or Instagram , text messages often contain all sorts of notifications. One minute you're chatting with a friend, the next you've received a bank OTP code, a food delivery notification, a promotional message, and a doctor's appointment reminder. And when it all piles up in one place, your inbox can look like a cluttered drawer.
Samsung Messages' conversation categorization feature solves this problem brilliantly. Instead of seeing all the messages you receive in one endless list, it lets you divide them into separate tabs. It's like creating different folders on your computer, but for text messages.
Within each category, you can pin important conversations to the top. This way, your family group or bank notifications will still be visible even when dozens of new messages arrive. Of course, the usual limit of pinning a maximum of 20 conversations still applies, meaning you can't pin more than 20 conversations across all categories.
This simple arrangement is more important than you think. Text messages are still where you see the most important information, such as verification codes, urgent notifications, booking confirmations, and delivery updates. When SMS messages get mixed up with promotional messages and other generic notifications, it's easy to miss important information.
Google Messages still handles SMS messages as a single stream, with only spam filtering. This means your messages are only sorted chronologically. This creates an ever-growing timeline that never gets any easier to manage.
Creating and managing categories is very easy.
Customize your inbox with just a few taps.
By default, Samsung Messages lists all your conversations in a single tab, just like Google Messages. But creating a new category is easy. To do that, tap the plus icon next to All and enter a category name. That's it!
Once created, you can start selecting the conversations you want to add to that group. If you need to move or delete a conversation later, press and hold the conversation, tap the three-dot icon, and select Add to category or Remove from category . You can create as many categories as you like, then organize your messages accordingly. This makes it easy to find what you want to read right now.
For example, create a Personal category for friends and family, a Transactions tab for bank notifications and OTP codes, a Promotions category for subscribed stores and services, and an Others tab for one-time random messages.
After setting up all the categories, you can fine-tune them. Tap the three-dot menu and select Edit categories to manage and rearrange them. Here, tap the three-dot icon and select Select . Then, use the up and down arrows to rearrange them.
You can also rename or delete categories from this menu. Don't worry, deleting a category won't delete your messages within that category. It simply moves them to the All list .
Samsung Messages has many other commendable features as well.
Google, you should learn from this!
Categorizing conversations is helpful, but it's not the only reason we find Samsung Messages better. After all, Google Messages also has RCS, and that's an important feature for many people.
But Samsung Messages also has many other small features that are hard to ignore. For example, Samsung Messages lets you customize the background image for each conversation. You can even fine-tune the opacity of the chat bubbles and adjust the text contrast for better readability.
Another useful feature is the built-in message translation function. If you receive a message in your local or foreign language, you can translate it right within the Samsung Messages app. All you need to do is select the text and tap Translate . This is something you don't have in Google Messages.
Additionally, there's a Trash folder , which can be a lifesaver if you accidentally delete a message or an entire conversation. It will retain that message for 30 days before permanently deleting it, so you have a pretty good chance of recovering it. The Samsung Messages app also doesn't force users to use any AI features. These are all small details, but they really make a difference when you switch to using this app.
If you have to deal with dozens of messages every day, you know how quickly things can get chaotic. The chat categorization feature is a simple solution to that problem. And sometimes, the best upgrades aren't the loudest ones, but the ones that make your life easier.