I know it's wrong, but I feel like if your taste is so poor you prefer to use Android, you kind of deserve to have a bad experience. My better self thinks Apple should go ahead and implement this.
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Google's New 'iPager' Ad Shames Apple for Using Outdated Messaging Standard
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There’s really no replacing SMS, nor can it be upgraded. It’s the paging line of your phone that keeps it connected to the tower you’re on; there’s a whole 140 bytes of data leftover on a single ping… so SMS uses that 140 bytes by allowing 160 7-bit characters to ride that same signal, consuming all leftover data. RCS was devised to use a data call, like all data calls, to enhance that base messaging service, but SMS would have always remained. Since there was no monetizing it like they were able to do with SMS, carriers abandoned it, or half-heartedly released it. That’s where Google stepped in, though it’s really nothing more than your average OTT messaging service now, just with access to Android’s SMS core to allow it to fall back if needed.
Google should be more concerned with DuckDuckGo.
"Google's New 'iPager' Ad Attempts To Shame Apple for Using Outdated Messaging Standard”
FTFY
From what I understand of RCS (and I am no expert and am fine to be corrected), there is nothing in RCS that an Apple user doesn’t already get with iMessage, and the things it MAY do better are things that the majority of iMessage users don’t think about or don’t care about.
This whole kerfuffle seems to be more about Android users being salty about being assigned a different colored bubble, which is, IMO, absurd. Plus, I wouldn’t trust the security hole adopting RCS would punch in.
That said, Apple was clear: they see no *demand* for RCS support, so they see no reason *to* support it, especially given the inherent security issues anything from Google provides. If it were me, and I were Google, I would spend more effort convincing Apple consumers RCS is to THEIR benefit.
As a long-time (US) Apple aficionado, I see no benefit in RCS. I don’t care about high fidelity GIFs. I don’t care about the vast majority of nonsense that seems to be the justifications on RCS. I am mildly irritated that the syncing between mixed-tech groups has when engaging on a Mac, an iPad and an iPhone, but that’s it: mildly irritated. I can still text my Android friends and they can still text me. What, exactly does RCS do to improve my experiences in iMessage when all I need is to send a quick text to someone or coordinate a meet-up amongst friends? When Google can make that case to the user, and can convince a sufficient number of Apple users that RCS is a real QOL offering, Google may have more of a leg to stand on when making their case to Apple.
I think the tech crowd needs to remember a significant number of Apple consumers are NOT tech people, and don’t care about the latest and greatest messaging protocols; and I think a disproportionate number of tech consumers are Android users, which is why the narrative is so resonant for an Android user. As for the bubble “controversy” I dismiss that out of hand as trivial nonsense. Who cares what colors your bubbles are? In the old IM space, I could pick any number of colors for incoming and outbound communications. And frankly, it’s MY bubble that changes color. YOUR bubble is always white/clear, no matter what device you are on. There’s enough to be angry about in the world without pitching a fit over the color of your text message.
At the end of the day, RCS needs to make the case for why it will be of benefit to the Apple user that doesn’t include Android in the explanation, because we have sufficient communication with Android in the iMessage space. Not absolute parity, but it’s not deal-breakingly disparate. As long as the reasoning is “iMessage makes Android users feel bad” Apple isn’t going to listen, or care to adopt the protocol.
FTFY
From what I understand of RCS (and I am no expert and am fine to be corrected), there is nothing in RCS that an Apple user doesn’t already get with iMessage, and the things it MAY do better are things that the majority of iMessage users don’t think about or don’t care about.
This whole kerfuffle seems to be more about Android users being salty about being assigned a different colored bubble, which is, IMO, absurd. Plus, I wouldn’t trust the security hole adopting RCS would punch in.
That said, Apple was clear: they see no *demand* for RCS support, so they see no reason *to* support it, especially given the inherent security issues anything from Google provides. If it were me, and I were Google, I would spend more effort convincing Apple consumers RCS is to THEIR benefit.
As a long-time (US) Apple aficionado, I see no benefit in RCS. I don’t care about high fidelity GIFs. I don’t care about the vast majority of nonsense that seems to be the justifications on RCS. I am mildly irritated that the syncing between mixed-tech groups has when engaging on a Mac, an iPad and an iPhone, but that’s it: mildly irritated. I can still text my Android friends and they can still text me. What, exactly does RCS do to improve my experiences in iMessage when all I need is to send a quick text to someone or coordinate a meet-up amongst friends? When Google can make that case to the user, and can convince a sufficient number of Apple users that RCS is a real QOL offering, Google may have more of a leg to stand on when making their case to Apple.
I think the tech crowd needs to remember a significant number of Apple consumers are NOT tech people, and don’t care about the latest and greatest messaging protocols; and I think a disproportionate number of tech consumers are Android users, which is why the narrative is so resonant for an Android user. As for the bubble “controversy” I dismiss that out of hand as trivial nonsense. Who cares what colors your bubbles are? In the old IM space, I could pick any number of colors for incoming and outbound communications. And frankly, it’s MY bubble that changes color. YOUR bubble is always white/clear, no matter what device you are on. There’s enough to be angry about in the world without pitching a fit over the color of your text message.
At the end of the day, RCS needs to make the case for why it will be of benefit to the Apple user that doesn’t include Android in the explanation, because we have sufficient communication with Android in the iMessage space. Not absolute parity, but it’s not deal-breakingly disparate. As long as the reasoning is “iMessage makes Android users feel bad” Apple isn’t going to listen, or care to adopt the protocol.
I don't speak with people over SMS gross green bubbles.
To me it’s a non-issue. I only know three persons on Android. And I live in Sweden before anybody comes parashooting in trying to cut me off at the pass with the bloody “everybody is on WhatsApp in Europe”. Maybe they are, I wouldn’t know since I quit WhatsApp and only use iMessage. My closest friends don’t use it either.
Maybe it’s because I’m 48 and don’t want to hang out in chat group, I don’t know. I do not suffer from any FOMO when I “miss out” on a WhatsApp group. It is freedom, not FOMO! Like when you put a “no advertising” sign on your mailbox.
So go on Google, I don’t care. Either way.
Maybe it’s because I’m 48 and don’t want to hang out in chat group, I don’t know. I do not suffer from any FOMO when I “miss out” on a WhatsApp group. It is freedom, not FOMO! Like when you put a “no advertising” sign on your mailbox.
So go on Google, I don’t care. Either way.
For once Google actually cares about your security more than Apple. Read up on the protocol.
Could you expand on this? How specifically is Google's RCS implementation crappy?
i think i will trademark the lowercase letter ‘i’ so i can collect royalties from both Apple and Google.
i’ll charge $.0001 per use and make millions!
💵💵💵💰💰💰💵💵💵
i’ll charge $.0001 per use and make millions!
💵💵💵💰💰💰💵💵💵
I agree, it's a marketing play that is not going away. Personally I care more about the features of RCS than the color of the bubble, they can keep it the color they want for all I care
I do care. Outside of the US, communicating with Android people is quite frequent, and the experience is so poor, both for the Android and iPhone users. SMS is old and not E2E encrypted, and let's face it: Android is not going away. Why deliberately keep the iMessage experience so limited for iPhone users? I am so heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, yet a group chat with only one single green bubble is awful. Apple should implement RCS not for Android users, but its own users.
That said, I think this ad campaign is ridiculous and convincing no one.
Their E2E encryption is only in one-to-one chats, not in group chats and it's limited by devices partially as well. Plus all the data passes Google's servers, which means data mining for metadata and I would assume content as well. It's unclear if Google holds the private keys or not. Here's a good overview a bit more info. Basically there's a universal implementation supported by many parties and Google has decided to tweak it. They are asking Apple to implement their version, not the universal profile one.
> Google has used billboards, ads, websites, social media campaigns, and more to get Apple's attention and to try to convince iPhone users to request the feature from Apple
What's the angle here from Google's side? Why are they spending so much time, effort and money trying to get a feature implemented in iOS? What does Google get out of it and why they need it but Apple does not?
What's the angle here from Google's side? Why are they spending so much time, effort and money trying to get a feature implemented in iOS? What does Google get out of it and why they need it but Apple does not?
Which version of the protocol? Also, I would argue that's not true if you don't have E2E on by default for all chats including group chats and you have access to metadata.
It is a pretty unfortunate situation for Apple to have this proprietary messaging platform and use it to lock in users who care about their blue bubbles etc. But I certainly can’t fault them for not jumping on a standard that is deeply controlled by Google; that also seems like a very bad idea for many reasons. So there we are.
For what it’s worth I’ve been pushing my circle to get Signal. It’s secure, not controlled by Facebook/Meta (another player to avoid as much as possible), and cross-platform. Haven’t had a lot of success so far though.
For what it’s worth I’ve been pushing my circle to get Signal. It’s secure, not controlled by Facebook/Meta (another player to avoid as much as possible), and cross-platform. Haven’t had a lot of success so far though.
It's hilarious how salty and jealous they are of our blue bubbles.
On a serious note tho not many outside the US use iMessage. I only use it to get my two factor authentication SMS and delivery notifications lololol.
In Europe, WhatsApp is king. That won’t change with RCS. I don’t think. But we will find out when the EU legislators force it on Apple eventually.
In Europe, WhatsApp is king. That won’t change with RCS. I don’t think. But we will find out when the EU legislators force it on Apple eventually.
Attachments
Then don’t buy an iPhone. People buy iPhones for what they are. You act as if we are ignorant to our purchases. Sure maybe some are but then who cares? It’s not an important issue for them. If this is important to you then buy android. That’s the point of choice. Why should apple change when their customers are happy with it? Yes we all make our own choices for our own reasons. They don’t have to match YOUR reasons.
If people eventually switched to Signal, Session, Telegram or decentralized solutions like Matrix (for example through Element), world would be certainly a better place. Plus, you could actually have private and secure conversations.
What security? They care about metadata and metadata only. Even E2EE messages provide the following metadata back:
- Phone numbers of senders and recipients
- Timestamps of the messages
- IP addresses or other connection information
- Sender and recipient's mobile carriers
- SIP, MSRP, or CPIM headers, such as User-Agent strings which may contain device manufacturers and models
- Whether the message has an attachment
- The URL on content server where the attachment is stored
- Approximate size of messages, and exact size of attachments
What can be done with that metadata? You can construct exactly what the messages contained, without ever reading a single message.