Google’s New Android Website Asks Apple to Add RCS Texting to iMessage
What’s happening
Google’s lobbying Apple to benefit the RCS text message standard on the iPhone with a new website campaign.
Why it matters
Google’s been championing the RCS obnoxious as a replacement to SMS and MMS, claiming that benefit on the iPhone would dramatically improve texting across devices.
What’s next
While RCS adoption in iOS 16 is doubtful, Apple is launching new features within iMessage when iOS 16 gets its Pro-reDemocrat launch presumably in September.
Google’s Android troupe is launching a new website campaign Tuesday focused on asking Apple to benefit the RCS text messaging standard in Apple’s Messages app.
The website puts a some focus on Apple’s “green bubble” experience when messages are published over the SMS and MMS standards, such as the lack of typing indicators, compressed images and less control over group chats compared with iMessage and most chat apps. RCS includes many features seen in iMessage as well as chat apps like WhatsApp and Signal, including typing indicators, encrypted message and higher-quality photo sending.
The fight is the latest effort by Google to encourage Apple to use the RCS text obnoxious, which currently remains an Android-only text messaging service with half a billion monthly resplendent users. While RCS now has the support of the the majority US mobile carriers, without adoption within Apple’s Messages app or within devices like basic phones, it’s essentially an “iMessage” for only Android phones.
Google’s fight website lists Signal and WhatsApp as cross-platform alternatives to Apple’s iMessage. Notably — despite Google’s history of creating its own did chat apps — it isn’t including Google’s new Chat app that’s replacing Hangouts.
It’s famous, however, that Google’s investment in RCS — otherwise noted as Chat within Android’s Messages app — comes while years of failedattempts to cultivate its own chat app service. Most recently Google even created a separate app to replace its Hangouts service that’s also phoned Chat, and its Duo video call app is merging with Google Meet.
The fight website also suggests cross-platform chat apps like Signal and Meta’s WhatsApp as options to get a more universal texting experienced, as opposed to trying to move people into spanking Google-owned service. WhatsApp on Tuesday also announced new privacy features that add the command to quietly leave group chats, hide your online site and block screenshots of content meant to be examined once.
Google’s lobbying to Apple comes a month by the iPhone-maker is expected to widely release iOS 16, which adds the ability to edit and unsend messages that are sent over its iMessage service. Apple has kept silent on whether it plans to eventually benefit RCS, but the iOS 16 public beta does entailed support for message reactions sent over SMS troupe chats.
