They are call prepaid plans in the US too, RCS is not support by carriers on them.
Oof. That's shitty.
They are call prepaid plans in the US too, RCS is not support by carriers on them.
All three words are wrong, sorry. It's neither global (even int the US not all carriers support it), nor adopted (were here talking about forcing people to adopt it I guess) and also not a standard (see the linked Ars Technica piece).
So why doesn't Google use carrier implemented RCS and their own RCS as fallback?Because they literally already do it with other standards. Before MMS was widely used MMS was literally in the same situation and yet Apple happily added support and options in the settings for MMS and MMS fallback when a carrier either didn't support it or charged extra money for it.
It costs Apple literally nothing to add the standard as a fallback. It costs them nothing to use the standard as written. And they can even weaponize it against Google if they wanted to be petty about it. There is literally zero downside to them doing it.
They do. Android supports RCS Universal, which is the standard RCS. Its a fallback to their specific fork of RCS. There is literally zero reason why Apple can't do the same.So why doesn't Google use carrier implemented RCS and their own RCS as fallback?
All three words are wrong, sorry. It's neither global (even int the US not all carriers support it), nor adopted (were here talking about forcing people to adopt it I guess) and also not a standard (see the linked Ars Technica piece).
US carriers went hard on making texting free and unlimited before other countries carriers did.
That's why we never migrated to messaging apps. Essentially texting has been free since cell phones were widely adopted so there was 1 less major forcing factor for families to all decide to download a 3rd party app.
And people argue it wasn't a factor every thread, and the world keeps spinning.
This is basically all of the reasons needed for Apple to tell Google to kick rocks.
So why doesn't Google use carrier implemented RCS and their own RCS as fallback?
The vast, and I mean VAST, majority of people in the US have iPhones and use iMessage exclusively. Like you can't argue that people should just use WhatsApp or Signal when that ship has already sailed. Those apps have been around for years and gained no traction in the US.
The green bubble thing is absolutely real. And not even just kids being petty. I know a bunch of grown ass adults in their 30s and 40s who will exclude friends from group chats if they have an Android. Nobody wants the horribly compressed video or complaints about reactions coming through as additional texts.
Does it not improve the user experience for iMessage users who have noniPhone contacts as well?Apple really has no reason to budge on this issue. Googles efforts come off very desperate.
Yeah, it doesn't hold up to basic scrutiny.The best part is Apple uses Google Cloud for iCloud storage anyway ...
Also, it shows the vanity of Apples privacy stances when it forces its users to use 25 year old unencrypted messaging, just because the person they're talking to doesn't have an iPhone.
Certainly it would.Does it not improve the user experience for iMessage users who have noniPhone contacts as well?
LOL, Google is hilariousHeck, even on Android RCS messages are a different color from SMS/MMS. In Google Messages RCS becomes a deep blue instead of gray, and you also have extra indicators for read reciepts.
I'm left out of family group chats because I have a better phone than the rest of them.
Apple needs to grow up and stop being so petty. I'm an adult, so I don't feel bullied or peer pressured to buy a shittier phone. But I imagine how horrible it would be to be a US teen right now that owns an Android.
Apple is not going to support Google's flavor of RCS, which is what Google's promoting and wants though
Apple is not going to support Google's flavor of RCS, which is what Google's promoting and wants though
If anything people in the US have to wake up already and use universal messaging apps like everyone else in the world.
does the universal standard without Google's hotfixes work as reliable as SMS?And yet Apple can just implment the RCS-Universal standard as-is and tell Google to have fun convincing the carriers alone.
Would this help at all? It's Google's implementation that adds the worthwhile features, right?And yet Apple can just implment the RCS-Universal standard as-is and tell Google to have fun convincing the carriers alone.
This is basically all of the reasons needed for Apple to tell Google to kick rocks.
100% correct.Google should take the energy they did for this stunt and apply it to sticking with one messaging service. They had a chance and bungled it up and are now blaming apple.
I know, but it really is impossible to understand what's the problem when you live outside the US I guessYou are hilarious. Human race can't even get everyone to agree to mask up in a global pandemic now you want them all to agree to download a different messaging app, create a new account under that service and then tell every friend to convert.
I know, but it really is impossible to understand what's the problem when you live outside the US I guess
This is not some non-profit standardization organization thats the good guy here:RCS is recognized by the GSMA.
If there is a globally recognized successor to SMS/MMS, it's RCS.
The GSM Association (commonly referred to as 'the GSMA' or Global System for Mobile Communications, originally Groupe Spécial Mobile) is an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
does the universal standard without Google's hotfixes work as reliable as SMS?
Unclear
Would this help at all? It's Google's implementation that adds the worthwhile features, right?
We did. When Whatsapp changed their EULA to let more data to Facebook literally half the population moved on to Signal, Threema, Telegram. The force was so big WhatsApp tried to "delay" the rollout of their EULA.I mean it's not hard to imagine. If WhatsApp is the dominant way of communication in your country, imagine having to tell everyone to switch off from that because Meta is shit.
I did just this and we use Signal now. 🤷♂️I mean it's not hard to imagine. If WhatsApp is the dominant way of communication in your country, imagine having to tell everyone to switch off from that because Meta is shit.
TBH I kind of want them to do so, only to give them green bubbles, because they sure as hell won't ditch iMessage - and see Google's reaction.And yet Apple can just implment the RCS-Universal standard as-is and tell Google to have fun convincing the carriers alone.
Google should take the energy they did for this stunt and apply it to sticking with one messaging service. They had a chance and bungled it up and are now blaming apple.
We did. When Whatsapp changed their EULA to let more data to Facebook literally half the population moved on to Signal, Threema, Telegram. The force was so big WhatsApp tried to "delay" the rollout of their EULA.
Google should take the energy they did for this stunt and apply it to sticking with one messaging service. They had a chance and bungled it up and are now blaming apple.
This is not some non-profit standardization organization thats the good guy here:
GSMA - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Love me some carrier special interest group.
They did so after multiple attempts including Google Hangouts (which was great, only to be killed)... They did?
"Google Messages" is their iMessage equivalent. Whenever I text someone else using Google RCS, the experience is virtually similar to iMessage. This is purely about the quality of messaging when users of both platforms communicate with each other.
That is the opposite of the point. It's another app that does something my phone ALREADY does, for free. The issue is the tech monops arguing with each other and leaving their users with the shit.People jump from Insta to Snapchat to TikTok to "the next big thing" in a heartbeat but y'all telling me downlading a messenger is hard
The business dueling is normal.
Everyday people picking sides to defend their favorite smartphone manufacturer of the month is what's really cringe.
Also this.I guess I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, better cross-platform messaging would be good, and it would just be an additional fallback. On the other, supporting RCS specifically is just prolonging the life of carrier-centric messaging when it would arguably be better for that to die with SMS.
(And of course, being locked into any of these proprietary messaging platforms kind of sucks and is its own problem, and some modern, federated, e2e-encrypted-by-default protocol gaining traction would be great. But I don't know what the pathway to that would ever be.)