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The problem is that this is only an issue for american iphone users, who blatantly refuse to use any 3rd party messaging apps at all. That makes it easy for Apple to argue that it’s those users’ decision to stick to Apple Messages only and accept the limitation to only using SMS/MMS to text Android users. And, obviously, they won’t budge and enable RCS.
That is true, I agree. TlBut, they're happy with iMessage, I get it. In my experience of iPhone users I know, they don't refuse, they are simply oblivious. In other countries SMS hit their pocketbook and that woke them. Here... no impact.
 
The problem is this... there is a limited upside for RCS on iPhone.

If this was a problem for Apple, they'd adopt it, but Google is making a bunch of noise, because Android has never managed to get messaging right and it needs Apple to embrace RCS. iOS users have iMessage and it literally does everything they want it to do.
including only useful to iphone users...
 
I suspect that Apple would embrace RCS if it replaced SMS world wide (and did not go through a non-Apple relay server) even if it weren’t E2EE. But not if they have to have both SMS and RCS. And Mr Cook is correct, Apple users aren’t asking for RCS.
Most Apple users don't know what RCS is, much less ask for it. Most non technical users will never ask for a technology, but might ask for functionally. Like making sure my video sent to Grandma doesn't get scrambled...
 
"Like making sure my video sent to Grandma doesn't get scrambled..."

Why would you let your Grandma use an android phone?
 
The problem is this... there is a limited upside for RCS on iPhone.

If this was a problem for Apple, they'd adopt it, but Google is making a bunch of noise, because Android has never managed to get messaging right and it needs Apple to embrace RCS. iOS users have iMessage and it literally does everything they want it to do.

You should really read on RCS and the path it took.
btw - how many US teens actually use iMessage? Not many.
 
"Like making sure my video sent to Grandma doesn't get scrambled..."

Why would you let your Grandma use an android phone?
Because we can't afford even the lowest cost iphone, Mr Cook... or because she simply felt better with a " ugh" Jitterbug, or her other children were Android users, or what the heck kind of a question is that. For people with your view, why bother having the conversation
 
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You should really read on RCS and the path it took.
btw - how many US teens actually use iMessage? Not many.
Weren’t we all led to believe that US teens with iPhones used iMessage exclusively?

I’m not interested in RCS. If apple decides it’s in their best interests there is some advantage . If the government decides for apple it’s a solid lose/lose all around.
 
That’s probably true for Apple users outside the US because they are ok with using 3rd party apps to message with Android users. US Apple users, however, are more stubborn and narrowminded and refuse to use any 3rd party messaging apps, meaning they can only do basic texting and low quality images and videos (SMS and MMS) with Android users via the messages app. Although it’s mostly their decision not to use anything other than the messages app, I still doubt they like it at all to have those limitations.

If you could default a 3rd party app in iOS I bet that would change quickly
 
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I think it’s partly a marketing problem. Instead of calling it “RCS”, they should have just called it “HD Texting” or something (maybe an even sillier name like “5G Texting”). That may sound a bit ridiculous to us more technical folk, but hear me out.

I think that this kind of branding could really resonate out in the market more with regular customers who have no idea what SMS or RCS mean. Everyone knows what Texting is. If you could simply say, Apple is stuck using an insecure, slow, Lo Fi Texting version, while these cool phones over here give you secure, fast, HD Texting, that might at least resonate with many of the less technical folks.

You know, “oooh, ‘HD Texting’, gotta have it. Poor Apple users over there stuck using that old, slow Lo Fi texting”. Let’s stoke those FOMO flames! 😂

Even though of course we’re using iMessage which is better all around, this message could get through to more customers, perhaps, which in turn could increase pressure on Apple.
 
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"I don't hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy in on that at this point," said Cook.
I don't remember people asking for any number of software functions and features that Apple has introduced over the years, but that has never stopped them from choosing to introduce them, so this is a lame response imo.

In addition, here in the UK at least, lots of two factor verification messages, deliver notifications from the courier companies and our own Royal Mail, and messages from our health service are sent to us via SMS. It would be brilliant to get them by a more secure way. Without knowing if a user has an iPhone or an Android phone, these messages currently have to be sent in the lowest common denominator which is currently SMS. The sooner Apple get on board with RCS, the sooner these messages can be sent out in the newer, more secure format.
 
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Okay just made an account because I can't believe how some comments sent here make no sense at all...
I AM THE ARBITER OF ALL THINGS RCS… as a result, I’m providing a list rife with factual inaccuracies. :)

For anyone interested in the “future” of RCS go no further than the GSMA’s website (the folks that created it).
Not many updates at all since 2020. It’s likely left out there for informational purposes and so they won’t have to correct links. They’ll likely remove the pages altogether, eventually, because it’s just getting more and more out of date talking about the “FUTURE” of RCS being 2021. :D
 
Well said. I'm getting tired of the Apple fanboys myself -- defending Apple at all cost, even to their own detriment. Switching to RCS from SMS/MMS helps us Apple iPhone users too!

Yes, I have Apple devices -- for now.
It’s not defending Apple to understand that RCS as a technology has failed. It’s certainly possible for a better standard than SMS to come along that could gain broad worldwide adoption, it’s just RCS isn’t it.
 
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They can stick to iMessage all they want and gate their userbase into a dictatorship but I ain't budging. Sticking to my Samsung S22 Ultra and if someone has a problem with me being a green bubble on the iPhone, maybe I don't want to talk to that person anymore. If Apple cared about a democratic setup, iMessage would have been available on Android already. Trying to hold on to a messaging service to force people to buy their devices is scummy and it won't last long
 
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It’s not defending Apple to understand that RCS as a technology has failed. It’s certainly possible for a better standard than SMS to come along that could gain broad worldwide adoption, it’s just RCS isn’t it.
iMessage should be released on Android. Apple believes it's a selling point for their iPhones which I think is pretty pathetic. Open source always wins over exclusivity.
 
Are you kidding me? What decade are you living in? I haven't paid for texting since the flip phone days.
BUT, the companies that send users SMS messages (shipping updates, reservation confirmation, bill pay reminders, etc.) are paying the carriers. And, in 2020, that was 2.7 trillion messages, an all time high at the time. That’s QUITE a huge amount of money the carriers are happy to continue making without spending a penny.
 
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I'll preface this by saying I don't really have a clean answer to this.
I think the cleanest answer at least for now, would be that RCS, as a technology, has already failed, so it’s not even worth the effort of any forward thinking. MAYBE there’s a need for a higher fidelity non-OTT interoperable technology in the future, but as the market drove the implementation of SMS, the market will likely drive the need/implementation of its replacement. It’s just that, right now, the number of users with the problem aren’t enough for carriers worldwide to do anything about it.
 
iMessage should be released on Android. Apple believes it's a selling point for their iPhones which I think is pretty pathetic. Open source always wins over exclusivity.
Open source HAS won. SMS is the undisputed leader in communicating text based messages from one device to the broadest number of recipient devices. Nothing else even comes close.
 
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It’s not defending Apple to understand that RCS as a technology has failed.
I couldn't disagree more. It's a standard and supported by most carriers in the US, and it allows better texting between OS's.

Just because Apple doesn't support it doesn't make it failed.
It’s certainly possible for a better standard than SMS to come along that could gain broad worldwide adoption, it’s just RCS isn’t it.
It would work far better than SMS.
 
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Most non technical users will never ask for a technology, but might ask for functionally. Like making sure my video sent to Grandma doesn't get scrambled...

The carriers that have listed RCS support, the costs match SMS with more if they use the feature to send, say 100MB files.

Interesting comments gentlemen,

I would imagine if users had to pay very much to send that HQ video to grandma, that they probably would complain and not use it.
 
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It would be a non-issue if Apple would let me pick a different SMS client. I could pick one that uses RCS or any other protocol I wish like WhatsApp, but as usual Apple knows best.
 
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