Skip to main content

T-Mobile partners to promote Google apps for messaging, cloud storage, and TV

T-Mobile is going all-in on Google apps and services. The two companies have announced a massive partnership that will see T-Mobile officially support Android Messages (with RCS, or Rich Communication Services) on all of its Android phones, and promote a range of Google’s apps and services in place of its own.

A few different Google apps and services will get pushed by T-Mobile as part of the deal. For example, Google One will be pushed as T-Mobile’s “preferred phone backup and cloud solution,” and YouTube TV will be promoted as T-Mobile’s premium live TV solution.

Recommended Videos

“We’re building on our decade-long relationship with Google to give customers an even better experience with the world’s very best products and services offered by Android, Pixel, and YouTube,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “The world’s most popular smartphone platform with Android, a broad range of premium Pixel devices, an upgraded [and] modern messaging experience on Android, and a robust entertainment offering with YouTube TV — it’s the best of Google, combined with the nation’s largest and fastest 5G network on T-Mobile.”

The partnership also means that T-Mobile will carry and promote Google’s Pixel line of phones — which is a major win for Google. Previously, Verizon was the only carrier really promoting Pixel phones, even though they still worked on other carriers.

The promotion of YouTube TV is a particularly big part of this new deal. That’s because T-Mobile has its own TV services, including Live, Live Plus, and Live Zone. As part of the deal, T-Mobile will stop offering its own TV services in favor of YouTube TV — and T-Mobile customers will be able to get $10 off a YouTube TV subscription.

The partnership also means that T-Mobile will carry and promote Google’s Pixel line of phones — which is a major win for Google.

The move is also a pretty big win for RCS. Google has been pushing RCS as the next-generation replacement to Short Message Service (SMS), but the rollout of the service has been a little convoluted. Samsung phones still ship with Samsung Messages as the default messaging platform, however the deal between Google and T-Mobile will mean that Samsung phones on T-Mobile will use Android Messages as the default in the future, with the switch happening before the end of the year.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
The Google Home app is getting a long-overdue feature
The Google Home logo on a Pixel phone.

According to the sleuths over at Android Authority, the Google Home app is about to get a much-needed feature that I'm honestly shocked hasn't been added yet: a search bar.

If you've never used the Google Home app before, it's sort of the command center for all things smart home in the Google smart home ecosystem. If you only have a few smart home devices, it's easy enough to navigate — but if you have an extensive smart home setup, you could have upwards of 50 devices listed in the app. If you don't take time to organize and label them, it gets unwieldy fast.

Read more
5 carriers you should use instead of T-Mobile
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

When it comes to performance, quality, and reliability, T-Mobile is undoubtedly one of the best carriers in the U.S. It offers the fastest speeds and the broadest coverage with reasonably priced plans that include quite a few perks.

However, that may still add up to more than you want to pay; top-notch performance comes with a higher price tag attached. The good news is that T-Mobile is far from the only game in town. In addition to the other two of the big three U.S. carriers -- AT&T and Verizon -- there are dozens of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that piggyback on the big carrier networks with more affordable plans that offer the same coverage and great performance at a fraction of the price. You’ll get fewer perks, and customer service may not be as responsive, but those may be reasonable tradeoffs for how much you’ll save.

Read more
Does a job listing mean Apple TV is getting an Android phone app?
The Apple TV app listing in Google Play.

There already is an Android app for Apple TV. More than one, actually. Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Let's read way too much into a job listing from Apple. Spurred by a (paywalled) piece from Bloomberg under the headline "Apple Signals That It’s Working on TV+ App for Android Phones," the reblogging industry is all atwitter over the idea that an Apple TV app may be coming to Android phones and tablets. And it might!

Read more