[Rolling out] Samsung to bring Call & Message Continuity (CMC) to Galaxy S8/S9 & Note 8/Note 9 by Q3 2019

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on July 17, 2019) follows:

Although I’m a hardcore Android user, I can not ignore the superior interoperability of Apple’s ecosystem. Especially the Continuity and Handoff features in iOS as well as macOS make them a perfect component to boost productivity.

WhatsApp Web, Your Phone from Microsoft or the web UI of Android Messages can be thought as a mediocre imitation of the Continuity feature designed by Apple. Not only they lack system-wide integration, but also the featuresets are too much limited.

However, Samsung decided to make their own version of Continuity by exploiting their One UI skin on top of regular Android. Dubbed as Call & Message Continuity, the feature is currently limited to a subset of Samsung devices running Android Pie based One UI 1.1.

The feature was initially available only on Galaxy S10, paired with Galaxy Tab S5e. A common Samsung account is required to be activated on both devices to be able to sync the calls and texts across devices.

Later on, the South Korean OEM expanded the device support. A handful of midranger Galaxy A series phones are now part of the roster, along with the Wi-Fi only variant of Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 (SM-T830).

As you can see, the LTE models of the Galaxy Tabs are not yet supported due to unforeseen reasons. It would be really handy for users having multiple Samsung gadgets to receive and send calls/texts without bothering the underlying hardware components, as the feature is purely based on software layer.

Although Samsung did provide One UI update to plenty of their legacy flagship devices, the Continuity feature did not make its way to them. Well, the situation is finally changing as the company is going to bring the support all the way to Galaxy S8 family.

In a notice published via Samsung Members app, the OEM announced that Galaxy S8/S8+, S9/S9+, Note 8 and Note 9 will get the Call & Message Continuity functionality via OTA update by Q3 of this year. The LTE variant of Galaxy Tab S5e should get it around the same time as well.

As mentioned in the announcement, 3 GB RAM and Android Pie are the mandatory minimum requirements for this feature. Once again, global rollout may be delayed as Samsung is planning to pilot test the new functionality under different regional markets.

On the other hand, they are also trying to deploy RCS support to these devices alongside Continuity. Given that Google is finally taking the matter in their hands, Samsung should not be lagging behind.

Theoretically, the integration of RCS and Continuity would be a godsend for regular users. However, given the restricted set of secondary devices and the mundane state of affairs with Android tablets, I would still opt for Apple’s ecosystem in this regard. 😛

Update (July 18)

Global Exynos powered Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ variants are now getting a new update with build number CSG8, which does bring Continuity support alongside July security patches.

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