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Those other services are kind of out of scope of this conversation. RCS/SMS/iMessage has no bearing on how those other services operate, so really, they are about as irrelevant to this conversation as MSN Messenger and ICQ.
So it's just an engineering / technical discussion? As a consumer I would say it is entirely relevant - they are all messaging services - "how they operate" seems irrelevant to me, as long as it just works.
 
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But they aren't "entering Apple's ecosystem". Apple is adopting RCS. Google is not adopting or changing anything. You speculating about the reasons this is happening doesn't make it true. Nor does it change the fact that this is a positive win for both Apple and Android users with literally no perceivable consequences. You are complaining about something great happening for the entire community. Why???

Features that were available to only iOS users are now being made available to Android users. That's an attempt at breaking the ecosystem. This is NOT positive for Apple in any way. It's a negative as now people have LESS incentive to buy an iPhone if they can get similar features via Android.

The Apple ecosystem is the main reason why I am an Apple user. I know that the App Store is safe because Apple has a thorough review process and I don't want side loading. Another bullsh*t EU goal.

Android users can have your own ecosystem - I just don't care.

This was a horrible move by Tim Cook.
 
Encryption is not part of Universal Profile. That means that RCS messages sent to Android devices won’t be encrypted. Since basically everyone else uses Jibe, then it does mean that RCS messages to Android devices will go through Google controlled infrastructure unencrypted. How many times do we have to point out that encryption is not part of Universal Profile?
Apple can choose to adopt whatever extension Google has added to the Universal Profile. All 3 major mobile carriers in the US use this already. How many times does that need to be pointed out? The universal profile might not have E2EE but it doesn't mean you can't add it.

Apple has deliberately chosen not to work with Google and use Google's E2EE extension.
Apple says it won't be supporting any proprietary extensions that seek to add encryption on top of RCS and hopes, instead, to work with the GSM Association to add encryption to the standard.
Google's E2EE is not "proprietary", they are using opensource signal protocol and nothing stops Apple from working with google who has been trying to get them to adopt RCS.
 
No, that's not at all what that means. Google added E2E encryption on top of the Universal Profile, so messages between Android phones sent via RCS are encrypted.
Did they, though? As far as I knew, RCS messages sent from Google Messages to other carriers’ RCS stacks weren’t encrypted. But Apple is pushing for encryption as part of the standard, per links shared by other users. So they won’t be using Google’s encryption extension.
 
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I’m curious what, if any, changes this addition will bring to macOS. Given that RCS can be sent via Wi-Fi, if/how this will be implemented on desktop?
 
I have a feeling EU regulators will see to it that it's not the case. I'm not saying that it's going to have the same features as iMessage, but the group chat scenario is part of the reason why the EU has been threatening regulation in the first place.
But they could then claim that message is supporting a "modern, open" standard so there's no need for regulation.
 
Essentially no answer given to you will satisfy your question so what's the point in asking. There is no such thing as perfect security, all encryption can be broke if you are motivated enough and have the resources and skills to do so which governments do.
So I am glad you agree that e2ee is just a marketing term and does not provide any security outside of protecting against an ISP from reading the data. Google, Apple, NSA, FBI, CIA, Microsoft, etc. can all read your messages. What difference does it make that ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. can also read your messages.
 
By the way, the change may come earlier than people think. We could see RCS support an iOS 17.x version possibly by late spring 2024, well before iOS 18.0 arrives in September 2024.
Yep this doesn't need to be held for a major revision. It isn't like Apple would spend time on the keynote talking about it anyway.
 
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Features that were available to only iOS users are now being made available to Android users.
No they're not. Android users have had these features for years. The only thing unique to iOS was Apple's proprietary implementation of those features. The only thing that this "breaks" is Apple's absurd limitations restricting their own customers from using these features with the rest of the world.
 
You don't think the EU will require encryption on RCS? With all of the boasting Apple does regarding privacy and security, it would be insane not to take advantage of the support on RCS. The EU will not take kindly to Apple intentionally hobbling RCS security in order to boost iMessage.
They openly stated that they're implementing the standard Universal profile for RCS. That means no encryption. Google had to add e2e encryption as an extension to RCS because it wasn't part of the UP.
 
I’m curious what, if any, changes this addition will bring to macOS. Given that RCS can be sent via Wi-Fi, if/how this will be implemented on desktop?
Good question. It probably won’t be supported on Macs/iPads unless you have an iPhone associated with the same Apple ID (similar to how SMS works). While Macs and iPads could send them over WiFi, RCS still seems to require telephone numbers as identifiers, which would rule out non-telephone devices. (Incidentally, I understand that Google Messages still has poor multi-device support, so that would be one perk of Apple RCS.)
 
So I am glad you agree that e2ee is just a marketing term and does not provide any security outside of protecting against an ISP from reading the data. Google, Apple, NSA, FBI, CIA, Microsoft, etc. can all read your messages. What difference does it make that ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. can also read your messages.
I'm not agreeing with you and I said no such thing. I said you have asked a question where whatever answer i provide you will not satisfy you. Anyone motivated enough will get access to your data if they really want to, its software and software can be broken, it does not mean it is easy. Google and Apple have said they don't have the encryption key so they cannot be compelled to decrypt your encrypted texts. Whether you choose to believe them, thats between you and any corporation isnst it?

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Features that were available to only iOS users are now being made available to Android users.
Nope. That's not what's happening.

That's an attempt at breaking the ecosystem. This is NOT positive for Apple in any way. It's a negative as now people have LESS incentive to buy an iPhone if they can get similar features via Android.
Why do you care what phone other people have?

The Apple ecosystem is the main reason why I am an Apple user. I know that the App Store is safe because Apple has a thorough review process and I don't want side loading. Another bullsh*t EU goal.
The App Store has plenty of scammy, untrustworthy apps and a notoriously inconsistent review process, but this also has nothing to do with RCS, so I'm not sure why you bring this up here.

Android users can have your own ecosystem - I just don't care.
And they still will. You can continue to not care to your heart's content.

This was a horrible move by Tim Cook.
Nah, this is one of the better moves by Apple in a long time regarding messaging. Interoperability is best for all users, included those of us on Apple devices.
 
RCS is so stupid. No thanks.

Get ready for "oh you're a green bubble? are you non-RCS green bubble or RCS green bubble?"

Or is it a new color? Brown bubble? Can you video chat with brown bubble people? Who knows. Imagine teaching your mom this.
Most of the rest of the world uses whatsapp or wechat so both RCS and iMessage are corner case messaging solutions.
 
Just allow us to delete the message app and install a third party text message app that works with our carrier. :rolleyes:
 
This was Apple's retaliation to the news from nothings CEO yesterday who was right, the iMessage app will get Tim's cook's attention and next day? Low and behold.

This means nothing to me
Oh, Vienna...
 
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Nope. That's not what's happening.


Why do you care what phone other people have?


The App Store has plenty of scammy, untrustworthy apps and a notoriously inconsistent review process, but this also has nothing to do with RCS, so I'm not sure why you bring this up here.


And they still will. You can continue to not care to your heart's content.


Nah, this is one of the better moves by Apple in a long time regarding messaging. Interoperability is best for all users, included those of us on Apple devices.

As I've very clearly stated - I don't care what Android does in it's own ecosystem. I don't care what phone people use in general. I don't think a company should be forced to adopt RCS if they already have a better product for their own user base. Today it's iMessage. Next, it'll be FaceTime. This will never end. The EU will keep wanting more. They need to be stopped.

As another example, WhatsApp exists to communicate with people across platforms. There are no feature restrictions.

This was absolutely unnecessary for the majority of iOS users but extremely important for Google as their own ecosystem barely exists and is quite pathetic TBH.
 
RCS messages will still be green...or if they are some other color, they still won’t be blue because that denotes iMessage. Expect complaining about that next.
Yea green would be a bad choice becaus, as I'm shore you know, green means ( at keast currently) this message might cost money to reply to, so I would say ( unless rcs is be a billed service) that green is not the colour to pick some kind of lighter blue maybe, or just blue if rcs will be free
 
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With RCS, real-time typing indicators, read receipts, better photos and videos, and much improved group chats will be standard on iPhones and Android phones, putting an end to the frustration that some iPhone users experience when attempting to communicate with Android smartphone owners.
Communicating with "people" is frustrating regardless of their phone. Especially people of the opposite sex (not assuming any gender).
It is not clear why Apple has changed its stance,
Because of another EU market directive, of course! 😇
The European Union, for example, has been working on legislation that would have required Apple to make changes to iMessage to make it available on other platforms. With RCS, iMessage will no longer have as many benefits that are unavailable cross-platform.
So you know why, but you still feel the need to cast doubt on whether government regulation can really work in the interest of customers?! This is not the first time that MacRumors plays clueless. They also pretended to have no idea, why Apple switched to USB-C? 🤷
Going forward, Apple plans to work with Google and other Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) members on further improving RCS.
I read this as the death of WhatsApp and Google won't have fun with this open standard either, as everyone can fork Android and get a compatible messaging app for free. Just as the EU wanted, more competition in digital markets. No reliance on one company or another for simple text communication. Good so!
 
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