Eh? No they are not. Don't get me wrong, Apple are an innovator, but *that* list is a list of things invented elsewhere (Apple were late adopters of Ethernet for example)
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All Three Major U.S. Carriers and Google Adopt Rich Communication Services, But No Sign of Apple Interest
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I don’t agree, I have a best friend who uses RCS messaging system to communicate however due to androids NOT USER FRIENDLY CONSUMER PRACTICES EMBEDDED in both their texting applications and other apps, I don’t fully enjoy the benefit of texting my best friend when I need to! I find that android users are all much too lazy or just plain incompetent to actually go about texting as the way texting should be! As a result I defend APPLE’s decision not to get RCS messaging if ppl and users across the board don’t understand the value of texting in general. Android needs to back off and focus on not exploding, yes I said it, let’s talk about that.
For the last several years, Google has been pushing a new communications protocol called Rich Communication Services, or RCS. RCS is designed to replace SMS, the current text message standard, and it offers support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file sizes, better encryption, improved group chat, and more.
Verizon today announced that it is planning to adopt Messages by Google as its default messaging service on Android devices, joining AT&T and T-Mobile. That means all three major carriers in the United States will support the RCS standard on Android devices as of 2022.
As The Verge points out, this leaves Apple as the big RCS holdout, and there are benefits that iPhone users will miss out on.
When RCS sees a complete Android rollout, text messages on Android phones will be end-to-end encrypted. iPhone to iPhone communications are end-to-end encrypted thanks to iMessage, but with this change, texts between Android users and iPhone users will be less secure because of Apple's decision to continue to use SMS over RCS.
Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Android, told The Verge that Android vs. iPhone messaging security will become an important discussion with the wider adoption of RCS. "The fallback messaging experience on the other platform will not have encryption if it's still SMS," he said. "I think that that is a pretty interesting dynamic and I would hope that as everyone focuses on security and privacy it becomes an important part of the discussion."
Lockheimer did not provide details on whether Google is discussing RCS with Apple, but Apple has been invited to adopt the RCS standard. Apple has declined to comment on RCS, and there's no sign that Apple plans to adopt it in the near future.
Now that all three major carriers in the U.S. are supporting RCS, Apple may be more inclined to consider the technology to make cross-platform messaging more secure.
Article Link: All Three Major U.S. Carriers and Google Adopt Rich Communication Services, But No Sign of Apple Interest
First of all the carriers are not going to implement anything. They all agreed to use The Google Messages app as the pre installed default messages app. 2nd. All of you are android users so, why so why do you think Apple cares about what ya'll think. IPhone users aren't complaining just Droid users. Personally, I despise Google Messages and the ui. Google Messages doesn't have all the features of iMessage. Even RCS resorts to Sms as a backup just like iMessage. So your point is? Yes Google Messages uses Sms as a backup solution. And no everybody doesn't use What's app. I know many people and none of them uses whatsapp. No one I know on Facebook and IG uses whatsapp. And yes they are many. So stop implying with out any reputable sources, and more than just one, that everyone uses What'sapp.
Yes, the messages get UNencrypted at each END. Once the message is on an Android device, Google will have it. Is it still more secure than SMS? Obviously, because third party bad actors won't have as easy access. However, OP is completely correct in that Google will still have full access.