Google is attempting to pressure on Apple to adopt RCS, a next-generation standard for text messaging, on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac so that green-bubble Android users will “stop being blamed for ruining chats” with their iPhone knockoffs.
In a website and publicity campaign on Tuesday, Google blamed Apple for creating a substandard experience when iPhones text Android phones or vice versa.
“We’re hoping that Android users stop being blamed for ruining chats,” Google global vice president for integrated marketing for platforms, Adrienne Lofton, said. “This is Apple that is responsible, and it’s time to own the responsibility.”
Google wants Apple to support the RCS “standard,” or specifications that allow many different companies such as carriers or phone makers to develop apps that can send and receive RCS messages.
Apple’s systems detect when an iPhone texts another iPhone and, instead of sending that message through the SMS system, it uses Apple’s own proprietary iMessage network. Users see the text they sent as a “blue bubble,” as opposed to the green color seen on SMS texts, like those to Android users. The inferiority of “green bubble” texts has become a meme and inspired a song by the musician Drake
iMessage chats provide a better user experience than SMS chats on an iPhone. Many of Apple’s features, like adding emoji reactions to a single text message, barely work on SMS chats. iMessage chats feel faster because of Apple’s animations and include features like bubbles that indicate whether a user is typing, and superior group chat administration.
Apple continues to distinguish iMessage from SMS through new features, like the ability to unsend or edit messages, which will be released this fall..
MacDailyNews Take: Why should Apple do anything whatsoever to improve the messaging experience for those who settle for a stolen product, knockoff iPhones?
Apple should support RCS in Messages right after they make Windows the default operating system for Macintosh.
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For some technical background on RCS vs. SMS, I found this article on ArsTechnica: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/08/new-google-site-begs-apple-for-mercy-in-messaging-war/.
As for me, I don’t want my carrier to control of my messages. I remember those days where every text I wrote showed up on my statement. My bill would be several pages long. Now, I don’t see that anymore.
Great article. To be fair, I think iMessage runs exclusively through Apple servers so isn’t much different from a server owner perspective by a user. What puzzles me is why Google doesn’t just implement RCS in an messaging App in Apple’s App Store or even more broadly, make it a part of gmail as a integrated communications tool that’ll just be another tab blurring the line between email and texting.
Why doesn’t Google fix their shit first. I can’t even send certain attachments to ‘green bubble’ people.
Google controls RCS so apple wouldn’t be adopting a ‘standard’. Screw google. Let the bastards squirm.
Pure example of a call for “equity,” when one demands another make it more fair for “me” at the expense of another’s experience of quality. When equality is unfair.
Poor Baby Goog-ie. All that tech know-how, but can’t get to where you want.
How about Google stop skewing search results to promote their personal political agenda? The same search term using any other service such as Duck DuckGo, Brave, Bing, Yahoo, or even Lycos gets much more objective results.
Google’s only “political” agenda is to make more money for Google, and to monetize the services they give away “for free”.
Proudly non-conformist. Google and Apple, go eff yourselves. Especially Apple.
I wonder how many here are proudly non-conformist when it comes to AppleCynic?
Google, Apple and AppleCynic, go eff yourselves. Especially AppleCynic.
Good one. I’ll tell my alter ego, who you usurped.
No worries, and yes, go F yourself, it’s what you do best.
Okay Karen
No problems Dwayne