Apple to Adopt RCS Messaging Standard for Better Interoperability With Android Devices

[Mackie924]

Because I have no issue with sms. Is there some lingering bugs with SMS im not aware of?

The saying doesnt go “if it aint broke, fix it”

Well, arguably the most important aspect of RCS is security. SMS is entirely unencrypted, whereas RCS supports E2E encryption. There's also improved photo quality, bigger attachments, longer messages, etc.

It's not as if you lose stability or anything with it. It only adds enhancements.

 

[falainber]

Because I have no issue with sms. Is there some lingering bugs with SMS im not aware of?

The saying doesnt go “if it aint broke, fix it”

If that is your attitude then why do we even need iMessages? There is no bugs in SMS that you are aware of.

 

[MacFan782040]

Cool now can we please change the icon to blue

 

[falkon-engine]

It's still fundamentally SMS though - I don't see the benefit for consumers to see 2 different colors if they get an SMS with RCS features?

I don't know either, I'm just making conversation, speculating on what might happen.

 

[jvolkman]

The part where it's a client concern is where I'm a little lost. Wouldn't this mean that only clients of the same type would be able to have E2EE?

It would mean that clients would have to coordinate on a specification (like MLS) to use E2EE together, but the underlying communication protocol spec doesn't need to be involved. Just like HTTP is not concerned when a new HTML element is added.

 

[ki77erb]

Why would an iPhone user prefer to get an SMS over an RCS message?

I think some of them don't know what either of those 2 things are.

 

[bobcomer]

Does this mean the “Oh, you don’t have WhatsApp? Why? Well, then you’re missing out, everyone uses it, it’s up to you to join us and stay in touch” will finally end?

I have WhatsApp, and absolutely no contacts. I know a couple of people that use it, but iMessage works for them.

 

[iObama]

I wonder if they’ll keep it green or move to a third color like yellow.

VERY excited for this. People hate the EU and their regulations, but they get stuff done ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. No way this would be happening if Apple wasn’t in the hot seat right now.

 

[ki77erb]

Because I have no issue with sms. Is there some lingering bugs with SMS im not aware of?

The saying doesnt go “if it aint broke, fix it”

Yes. There are a multitude of issues with SMS that you are apparently not aware of.

Why SMS Needs to Die

Relying on 30 year-old technology is holding us back.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[Wildkraut]

Thanks EU, for forcing Apple to add a few standards. 😘

 

[JohannesO]

Will Apple introduce a third color or will all non iMessage bubbles be green?
 blue, SMS green, RCS ? 🎨

 

[mdriftmeyer]

Apple has added frameworks to interface with RCS while preserving encryption on the iPhone messaging side of the equation. They haven't dropped their end-to-end encryption between iPhone users, just mitigated any potential attack vectors coming in from the Android side.

 

[IIGS User]

Hell is starting to freeze-over.

On the same day Snoop Dog says he's gonna stop smoking the green....

 

[motulist]

Read carefully…
“the standard as currently published by the GSM Association.”

Universal Profile

The GSMA’s Universal Profile is a single, industry-agreed set of features and technical enablers developed to simplify product development and deployment.

www.gsma.com

Carriers that have adopted RCS will get native support, I’m guessing, in the Messages app. It doesn’t say anything about non-carrier solutions that currently depend on apps.

Quote from that site:

The Universal Profile contains core features such as capability discovery (interoperable between regions), chat, group chat, file transfer, audio messaging, video share, multi-device, enriched calling, location share and live sketching. It also introduces the key enablers for Messaging as a Platform (MaaP). This includes support for RCS business messaging, Rich Cards, privacy control and spam protection.

Sounds like pretty much everything that everyone wants in a messaging app!

 

[SMH4KIDIOT]

I hope this finally pushes GSMA to finally update the Universal Profile to support an E2EE implementation for all clients to use. Most likely they will adopt Google's extension since it is building on the opensource signal protocol.

 

[bobcomer]

As long as the user (me) has the option to turn it off it’s not a problem. I start getting spam and trash messages because of it, it will be one.

You don't already get spam, phishes, and trash, on your iMessage account?? All the malware people need is a phone number, and that can be got just by the numbers themselves.

 

[JackNL]

Is RCS end-to-end encrypted like iMessage (or even Whatsapp)?

 

[ki77erb]

Some of you guys are acting like your favorite team just lost. Everyone wins here. Especially if all messaging between iPhone and Android gets E2EE. (which I suspect will happen)

 

[SactoGuy18]

Some of you guys are acting like your favorite team just lost. Everyone wins here. Especially if all messaging between iPhone and Android gets E2EE. (which I suspect will happen)

Hopefully as part of an international standard by IEEE.

I'm still hoping on the iPhone, in the Messages app we'll see:

Incoming iMessage text in blue bubble
Incoming SMS text in green bubble
Income RCS text in orange or gray bubble

 

[ki77erb]

Is RCS end-to-end encrypted like iMessage (or even Whatsapp)?

Most implementations of it are. The ones Google uses and the ones the major carries in the US are. I suspect that the standard itself will require it eventually.

 

[masotime]

RCS offers a different set of features. For example one can send hires pictures over RCS. Is it really that difficult to understand?

So? MMS allowed images to be sent instead of just text over the standard cellular SMS protocol, I don’t see a special color being given to MMS.

 

[jakey rolling]

It's not pompous for a customer to be displeased at losing functionality in their messaging client because of those green contacts. This was developed by experience over time, not arrogance or elitism.

It wouldn't be pompous for you to be displeased at losing functionality if you aimed your complaint at the people who are actually responsible for that very artificial lack of functionality (Apple). Instead, though, you choose to blame the "green contacts" for that lack of functionality, simply because they decided to choose for themselves that a platform other than the one you chose would best serve their needs.

 

[boss.king]

How is this good for iPhone users who didn’t want it?

How is this bad for you? What are the observable ways that you imagine this will affect your life? It's not like you have to do anything, just keep using your phone as you always have and forget RCS even exists.

 

[JGIGS]

Thank you once again European Union!! Got us USB C and now RCS. Keep knocking down those walls!

Apple should concentrate on selling based on having better hardware and OS's vs. competitors.

 

[norbinhouston]

yay, now google can read our text messages.