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Android 4.4 KITKAT brought a lot of great new changes, and one of those changes was Google Hangouts finally bringing us the SMS integration we’ve all been waiting for. While most folks are thrilled, there are sure to be some who aren’t fans of the new convergence.
For you, there’s one saving grace — 8sms. Simply put, 8sms is an adaptation of the stock SMS app from Android 4.3 and earlier. The code was borrowed from CyanogenMod, though the developer added a few useful features, including notifications popups, a quick replay interface, built-in emojis, an optional dark theme and more. In fact, it doesn’t like a bad SMS app to try for those who are on earlier versions of Android.
The app is being distributed in the Google Play Store, and you can follow development over at this XDA thread or at the official website. Be sure to head over there and donate some bitcoin if you want to reward this developer for their hard work! Stay tuned for a video tutorial where we show you how to switch SMS providers in Android 4.4 KITKAT!
that app looks awful, why not just sideload an apk of the actual SMS app?
This is for people who preferred the stock Android SMS app. The screenshot is of the dark theme, but you can get the stock look as well. There definitely are tons of great SMS replacement apps out there, and I implore people to explore all of them to see which one fits their needs.
I found this one on the Google play store. It is so close to Stock Android experience or maybe a clone: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.concentriclivers.mms.com.android.mms ,
It’s the stock app from 4.1, for people stuck with 4.0 or earlier, but it says MMS is currently broken.
you can just download this earlier version and MMS should work just fine : http://concentriclivers.com/android/Messaging-4.0.3-8.apk
I prefer Facebook Messenger with SMS integration over Hangouts. It’s an overall better app in my opinion.
I liked Facebook messenger for SMS/MMS also. it sux Facebook is killing SMS support…
I heard about this and was hoping it’s not true. What would the point be for them to kill SMS support anyway? It’s the only reason I use Messenger as my main messaging app.
sending MMS crashed when i tested 8SMS on my Nexus 5. please test MMS.
That phone in the thumbnail is older than my grandma.
Lolwut?
It’s simply the best and easiest/fastest SMS app in the Play. Great Job
I love the SMS integration into hangouts. I just need my Google voice integrated!
Quentyn what’s going on? You guys don’t plan on posting about Samsung giving apple a billion in nickels?
Ahh good old fake stories. Disregard.
Handcent is a much nicer app than stock
Still love Chomp SMS more than anything else. And the developer is SUPER responsive, which counts for a lot in my book.
Man you hit the nail right on the HEAD!!!! If you don’t know about Chomp then you obviously don’t own an Android phone. BEST SMS/MMS app hands DOWN! Dude Chomp does so much it’s insane.
I always really liked GoSMS. My girlfriend and I always used it. Mainly for the popup windows and the easy way to scroll through multiple pending replies. But it became to feature-packed. It’s just a texting app for god sake lol. But now I’m all Hangouts :)
I want to like it, but it crashes every single time I try to send a simple text on my Nexus 5. Had to install Handcent which works perfectly.
Oddly, it will receive just fine and know what I’ve sent from hand cent too, but if you try to send anything out it crashes.
Hangouts blows hard, I disabled the app. It gets every contact from exchange I’ve ever emailed, even one time! Just what I needed, a thousand contacts I’m never ever going to talk to again…
So I keep reading this line over and over again because it makes SO SENSE at all….someone tell me I’m not crazy….”In fact, it doesn’t like a bad SMS app to try for those who are on earlier versions of Android.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
He forgot to a word.
SMS with Hangouts is a good idea. Google just poorly handled it. It acts like two apps within each other. They need a simple way to distinct if you’re texting or the other. It needs to recognize of the person you are contacting is through Hangouts or SMS. Like iMessage. The bubble simply turns blue when using iMessage. Turns green when you’re no longer using iMessage or texting. Someone could not have an iPhone or Hangouts.
The SMS title is not enough? I find the update pretty awesome. My only gripe is the way it handles the contact list. I has the top three contacts up top, then it has a long list of suggested contacts from G+. I wish I could hid that list, and instead just show the contacts on my phone. It is VERY annoying.
Pop ups/quick reply? Count me in. I’ve been missing that for a long time now.
8sms, I like it, but no matter what pic message I receive, it shows the same image all the time, but when I open it, the correct image is there. Needs a little work
The best stand alone SMS app I have come across is surprisingly the Verizon Messages app. It allows me to do everything these other apps allow, but also includes Glypse for sending timed locations, and also has set multiple bubble colors to easily distinguish multiple replies in group conversation. Textra is a good one too. This one looks great too though … I especially like how I can title the conversation. This helps a lot when you have a bunch of Group messages going.
Wait, so why should I have to install a 3rd party app just to get back functionality I used to have?
Says every Windows 8 hater on the planet :P
If log out of Hangouts and you will only have SMS.
I prefer keeping my messaging mediums separate; I don’t like Google chats appearing alongside text messages and such like that.
The whole Hangouts/MMS move was wholly unnecessary. If I want to contact a person, I go to my contacts list and choose the medium. Now I go to the Hangouts app, choose the contact, then choose the medium. Now I can’t initially choose the texting medium. This is just a way to push people into Hangouts, not an improvement, because they took away choice, security, and ease-of-use.
no need mixing bodily fluids with another app. I just turn off sms in hangouts.