Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “RCS on iPhone: A big WIN for Android!”.
It’S been a long time coming, but Apple has finally confirmed that yes, RCS is coming to the iPhone. What does this mean for Android messaging? Well, here’s everything you need to know the battle between RCS and iMessage has been raging for years with both sides. Vine for dominance in that mobile messaging Arena, RCS or Rich communication Services has been around since 2018 and has been backed by Google and a Consortium of other Android manufacturers. While IM message is app’s proprietary messaging platform that has actually been available in full since 2011 and in the statement to 95 mac Apple confirmed that finally RCS, all those Rich communication services will be part of their messaging equation. Going forward, saying quote later next year.
We will be adding support for RCS Universal profile. The standard currently published by the GSM Association, We Believe RCS Universal profile, will offer better interoperability experiences when compared to SMS or MMS end quote a spokesperson for Google even offered Android authority. This response quote: everyone deserves to communicate with each other in ways that are modern and secure, no matter what phone they have. That’S why we have worked closely with the mobile industry to accelerate the adoption of RCs and we’re happy to see apple. Take their first step today by coming on board to embrace RCS.
We welcome Apple’s participation in our ongoing work with the gsma to of RCS and make messaging more Equitable and secure, and we look forward to working with them to implement this on iOS in a way that works well for everyone. End quote. That was definitely Google’s.
End goal with their getting the message campaign, but just what pushed Apple to proactively make this decision could be a combination of things. As I said, Google has been banging the drum and pressuring Apple to adopt the messaging standard. As part of that ongoing get the message campaign, this, though, is a real about face for Apple, especially after Tim Cook, famously told an Android User to buy your mom an iPhone not to make it personal, but I can’t say my mom certain videos or she can’t Send me certain videos, and so we leave bu your mom on iPhone. You may know that the EU has been cracking down hard on anti-competitive practices by large tech companies and Apple has been under scrutiny for locking out Android users from secure messaging with iPhones, and this would likely come up in legal proceedings after Vanquish. The lightning port on iPhone 15, adding the option for side loading later down the road and now RCS messaging. The EU is clearly helping one of the biggest tech companies more user friendly, even if it does have to shake a stick at it. Is this going to solve the blue bubble versus green bubble thing well? Apple also stated that RCS will quote work alongside I message, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users. Imessage is definitely not going anywhere and we expect iPhone to iPhone messaging to at least evolve over the next few years.
But with both platform support in the standard, iPhones and Android phones will finally be able to communicate properly, including adding support for things like read. Receipts typing indicators transferring full resolution images and videos plus group chats May finally work a bit better without major problems, most importantly to the security and privacy conscious Apple, that loved insecure SMS. For so long endtoend. Encryption will also be available by adopting RCs apple is going to improve how we all send and receive messages with contacts, friends and even businesses and services across multiple mobile platforms.
An iPhone communicating with our iPhones probably won’t see any difference later down the line. But when an Android User enters the chat, an RCS is available. That support will kick in when there’s no RCS support for this Android phone, SMS and mm will still be the backup. Does this mean that iMessage May finally be vanquished? Well, as I mentioned, no green bubbles are likely going to be sticking around for the time being, and it will would be a very Apple decision to make blue bubbles even more prominent when RCS is implemented later in 2024, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Apple Decided to add even more unique features to iMessage to try and make it a stronger part of that well-known device, locking process.
This move could have major knock on effects for lots of other thirdparty startup Services. You may have heard that, like Sunbird and beeper, and even that recently announced nothing in chat. Sure iMessage is going to be sticking around, so they may have some value but RCS, helping bridge that gap between Android and iOS means that these Solutions seem a little bit less prominent or even worthwhile or maybe even quite niche. As a result, plus you don’t have to risk your account security by having to log into a remote PCR Mac just to be able to message. Your iPhone using friends.
Rcs removes that risk, while allowing high quality messaging experiences across platforms, especially in when sending receiving photos and videos, which is often a common complaint. All of this is mostly a very North American problem, where the adoption rate of IM message is much higher and SMS usage is still incredibly high, and I can only speak from my own experience, but I’ve sent more iMessage and SMS messages, while making this video than At any point, in the past decade, other services, like WhatsApp telegram signal and even Facebook Messenger to a lesser extent, have become the de facto replacements for many around the world, myself included and luckily for the US folk, my colleague, C Scott Brown can give a few Thoughts from a North American perspective and make this make more sense to. I know it’s a little tricky for people outside the United States to understand how big of a deal it is.
That apple is bringing RCS to iMessage here in the US pretty much everyone who uses an iPhone relies entirely on iMessage for their chats. They barely use WhatsApp some will use telegram, but most don’t pretty much. Everybody does everything through iMessage. So this creates this huge barrier between iMessage users and Android users, because everything that iMessage users expect to work read receipts typing indicators, sending highquality images and videos all that doesn’t work as soon as an Android person enters the chat, and this has caused so many problems, Not not just for people trying to communicate with one another, but just uh in in daily life, like if an Android User is a teenager and joins into some of their teen friends. Chats that results in bullying it results in in in like them them being ostracized from the larger group, and this is a huge problem across all sorts of cultures and all sorts of economic backgrounds, and really it’s it’s so silly, because all it is, is a green Bubble, you know in a chat, but it causes this huge barrier between between these two sets of groups, so Apple announcing RCS isn’t going to solve all this. Obviously, we already know that that green bubbles are going to stay green and we know that a lot of features that iMessage users rely on, aren’t going to transfer over to RCS chats once an Android person comes into the chat in 2024, but uh at the at The very least it’s going to make it so that the barrier gets a little bit smaller and here in the US. This is such a huge deal. It’S going to finally make it so that you know if you have a family member who has an Android phone and, and you have an iPhone when you guys, communicate and send pictures back and forth of family members of children. Grandchildren.
All those kinds of things that you can see those photos you can see when the person is typing you can see when they’ve read your message. These are just little things that you know a lot of Apple users take for granted when it’s when they’re communicating with other iPhone users and now Android users are going to be a part of that. So this isn’t going to make world peace between Android users and iPhone users, but it’s a huge step towards narrowing that Gap.
Unfortunately, adopting RCS is only one piece of the larger Apple messaging pie. The new standard won’t make interplatform messaging any closer to Universal iMessage. Nor will it eliminate the perception of iPhones as better among young people. The Apple logo and blazing across the back of an iPhone will continue to dominate perception.
Green bubbles will still play group messages once an Android User hops in so Galaxy and pixel fans will keep getting excluded. Sorry, folks, but green bubble, bullying, probably isn’t going anywhere. Rcs also won’t change the fact that several applications are better optimized for iOS, either like recording images or videos on Snapchat or Instagram.
It’S just a small step towards progress, though, let’s face it. Apple is probably only welcoming RCS as well on iMessage, because it is being pushed to do so. It’S making the change a bare minimum level to cover its own behind, not to make Android users happier Apple, could open up iMessage if it really wanted to and eliminate green bubbles altogether, but it relishes in its premium perception and will continue to do so for as Long as possible, while it is the bare minimum, however, this could mean that RCS as a platform improves, as all of the major players are set to be involved and adopting that same standard, especially given the SMS and MMS, are very, very old. At this point, we need a standard for the 21st century, and RCS can be that for base level Communications. If you do want to use your default messaging application, I want to ask you, though, what do you think will Apple bringing rcs2 iMessage change much or will message in between Android and iOS mostly feel like it always has done, drop a comment down below, even if You like me, a WhatsApp stand thanks for watching and I will catch you in the next one.
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