Google has been pushing Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services or RCS, a messaging standard that would end the green bubble nonsense and allow Android users to chat with Apple users using modern messaging features. Last year, Google launched a whole website so that Apple “Gets the message” and adopts RCS, but the iMessage maker remains unphased by Google’s relentless jibes. Launching another attack, Google has now released a video that equates Apple’s messaging standards to those from the pager days.
The video shows a made-up device called iPager, which, Google says, “uses outdated messaging tech, like Apple uses when texting with Android.” The company calls Apple out for the lack of innovation and says it’s causing “modern technology nightmares.”
Zero encryption, broken group chats between Apple and Android, pixelated and blurry videos, and the infamous green bubble — Google blames it all on iPhones not supporting RCS. It’s “time for SMS to exit the chat,” Google says.
What’s the Apple-Google RCS fuss all about?
The iMessage green bubble vs. blue bubble texting phenomenon is very real in the US. Here, iPhone users rely solely upon Apple’s messaging platform to chat instead of using services like WhatsApp or Telegram that allow everyone to use modern messaging features similar to RCS. Because of this, Android users cannot have the same messaging experience as Apple users.
“If Apple were to adopt RCS, they’d be joining the rest of the mobile industry that is committed to upgrading the cross-platform messaging experience for everyone,” Google said in a press note emailed to Android Authority.
Will Google’s methods of naming and shaming Apple for the lack of RCS change the Cupertino company’s minds? It’s hard to tell. What could change Apple’s stance on RCS is Europe’s Digital Markets Act. The legislation will designate specific platforms as “gatekeepers,” forcing them to open up to rival services and apps. However, Apple is arguing against the inclusion of iMessage as a gatekeeper service. The company is reportedly saying that iMessage isn’t a popular enough platform in the EU to justify the designation.
Meanwhile, if you want to try RCS messaging on iPhones, you can try getting onto the Beeper app. It is the first RCS-supported chat app for iOS.
