So they want to be part of their technology, so bad that they’re going to try to shame them into allowing them in?
Google has urged Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS) in its Messages app in a "lyric explainer video" for Drake's "Texts Go Green."
RCS is designed to replace SMS messaging and touts support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file size, improved encryption, and more. Google has advocated the new communications protocol for several years.
Google's senior vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has repeatedly tried to persuade Apple to adopt support for RCS, and now, a video posted on the official Android Twitter account once again urges Apple to support RCS.
The video seeks to explain the meaning behind a song called "Texts Go Green," the third track on Drake's latest album, "Honestly, Nevermind," which explains the need to move on from a toxic relationship. The title is a reference to how when an iPhone user is blocked, they no longer see their messages sent as blue iMessage bubbles and send green SMS bubbles instead. "If only some super talented engineering team at Apple would fix this," the video says.
Apple is the last major RCS holdout, as U.S. carriers that include Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have adopted RCS support for Android devices. Apple has not commented on whether it plans to add RCS support in the future, so the company's position is still unknown.
Article Link: Sarcastic Android 'Lyric Explainer Video' Urges Apple to Adopt RCS in Messages
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Sarcastic Android 'Lyric Explainer Video' Urges Apple to Adopt RCS in Messages
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Ah yes, RCS, where encryption is off by default unless a carrier implements it. The surveillance gift that keeps on giving!
RCS as a magical encrypted end-to-end widely supported solution is a non-starter. Once even a cursory glance is made into what’s required for it to work, it’s a mess beginning to end and what comes out the other end of the process is a solution that’s no better than WhatsApp is right now (as carriers aren’t updating their infrastructure to support it, it wouldn’t be a fallback like SMS), and still won’t have the commerce features that WhatsApp has. AND, for what Google is pushing, would be maintained by Google.
OF COURSE they would like Apple to use it. LOLMMS was a simple extension to SMS, which is why carriers adopted it (that’s actually worth doing research into if you like interesting stories as SMS simply took advantage of the features of GMS networks that CDMA didn’t have. BUT, it was so successful as a marketing feature, CDMA eventually supported it!). RCS is where it is because to do it right (built into the phone network instead of as another app) would, again, require the carriers, but the carriers aren’t interested in paying money for something that will be given away for free.
I actually see that as a feature. Right now, there are millions upon millions of un-encrypted messages being sent every day… SMS. For a lot of people, sending a message to someone telling where to meet up is far more important than whether or not that message is encrypted (which is why they use SMS).
An RCS that didn’t go through Google for encryption, supported by carriers so that it could truly be a fallback like SMS/MMS is currently would not be an entirely bad end result. Good luck finding the carriers that want to update their systems to support it and it’s daily data requirements, though.
That’s due to the law. Most countries require the phone system to be “tappable”. The U.S. has since the 1940’s.
In my country (France) it has been proved that carriers agreed with each other to keep prices high so they could all maximise profit without worrying about the competition lowering the prices. So "consumer-friendly", so "healthy society" 😂The green comes from “this message may cost you”.
In the “consumer friendly” EU, they are still charged per text to the tune of billions per year. That’s why everywhere outside the US uses WhatsApp, because they can text without getting shafted by the EU carriers. Of course, now a huge amount of commerce and communication, which COULD have been handled by the EU’s carriers working together, is handled by a US corporation. Talk about short sighted!
While iMessage is a reason, I'd say the biggest reason is Apple was early into the market and with a 90+% retention rate has a user base that is familiar with all of its features, has a number of apps, and as a result switching costs are high.
Anecdotally, the users I know never really run up against any of the limitations RCS is supposed to address, really don't care about bubble colors, take pictures from within iMessage and just want texts to go through.
Seeing people, including full grown adults, caring about what type of phone that their peers have is silly to the highest degree. I myself call it disgusting.
I drive a Toyota. But my friend drives a Hyundai. Big freaking deal.
These phones, like cars, are mere tools. They’re dead, lifeless tools that allow us to communicate with one another. That’s all they are. Which tool that someone else uses is of no importance to me, and it shouldn’t be of any importance to anyone else either.
I drive a Toyota. But my friend drives a Hyundai. Big freaking deal.
These phones, like cars, are mere tools. They’re dead, lifeless tools that allow us to communicate with one another. That’s all they are. Which tool that someone else uses is of no importance to me, and it shouldn’t be of any importance to anyone else either.
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They do...they just don't communicate with them very much.
No it wouldn't. RCS is not anywhere nearly widely enough deployed by carriers, or by featurephones, to enable SMS support to be removed. RCS would be a third class of messages, with a different subset of features within iMessage, and still with chats potentially being downgraded to a minimum bar of SMS.
The Android carrier gaps are filled in today by Google running the RCS themselves (with non-standardized extensions). Your separate example of E2E encryption is an example of a proprietary extension by Google today.
Google's argument for RCS is one of trying to make Google's messaging product for phones relevant, after squandering their natural market advantages in the messaging space for nearly 20 years.
Google doesn’t really “run RCS for itself”. RCS is RCS and it will eventually replace carrier sms/mms. It’s just a little too early right now but it will happen.
RCS is simply “a way to do a thing”. For this particular way, if carriers aren’t updating their networks (they’re not), then the “way to do the thing” requires someone to hold all the keys required to encrypt/decrypt the traffic passing through. So, for what Google is proposing Google IS running RCS for those carriers that don’t want to pay to update their networks.
The only way RCS will replace carrier SMS/MMS is for it to be carrier RCS. As carriers aren’t interested, yes, it’s too early and will very likely be too early for a verrrry long time
Google isn’t encrypting RCS. It’s encrypting IP based messages sent and received from its own app. The same way Apple is doing when you send an iMessage. If it isn’t Google to Google then it defaults to unencrypted RCS for the majority of countries.RCS is simply “a way to do a thing”. For this particular way, if carriers aren’t updating their networks (they’re not), then the “way to do the thing” requires someone to hold all the keys required to encrypt/decrypt the traffic passing through. So, for what Google is proposing Google IS running RCS for those carriers that don’t want to pay to update their networks.
The only way RCS will replace carrier SMS/MMS is for it to be carrier RCS. As carriers aren’t interested, yes, it’s too early and will very likely be too early for a verrrry long time
Just extend iMessage to Android/PC/Linux as an app and keep their bubbles green, and remove carrier/gov texting as the norm.
SMS is ubiquitous to cell phones as it exists on the paging line your phone runs on to keep it connected to the tower. Every time your phone rings, it's a page. Every time you make a data call to the tower, it pages the tower to ask for it. SMS isn't going anywhere until the last circuit switched network somewhere in the world gets shut down.
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It’s still going through Google, it’s not a carrier adopted solution, which means it’s “just another app”. And, in that case, how is this app any better than WhatsApp?
Yes, Apple does the same thing, but, then again, Apple isn’t begging Google to use their method.
This is clearly a play by google to gain access and control. However the bastards don’t add Picture in Picture for YouTube in apple iOS devices. bastards…
Google has urged Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS) in its Messages app in a "lyric explainer video" for Drake's "Texts Go Green."
RCS is designed to replace SMS messaging and touts support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file size, improved encryption, and more. Google has advocated the new communications protocol for several years.
Google's senior vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has repeatedly tried to persuade Apple to adopt support for RCS, and now, a video posted on the official Android Twitter account once again urges Apple to support RCS.
The video seeks to explain the meaning behind a song called "Texts Go Green," the third track on Drake's latest album, "Honestly, Nevermind," which explains the need to move on from a toxic relationship. The title is a reference to how when an iPhone user is blocked, they no longer see their messages sent as blue iMessage bubbles and send green SMS bubbles instead. "If only some super talented engineering team at Apple would fix this," the video says.
Apple is the last major RCS holdout, as U.S. carriers that include Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have adopted RCS support for Android devices. Apple has not commented on whether it plans to add RCS support in the future, so the company's position is still unknown.
Article Link: Sarcastic Android 'Lyric Explainer Video' Urges Apple to Adopt RCS in Messages
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The RCS being described here doesn't use carriers, at all. It completely circumvents them. Sadly for its cause, Google controls the routing entirely.
In case this is actually serious, people had friends and family before SMS. And, if that kind of contact was as meaningful as you're pretending, loneliness wouldn't be the epidemic it has become since the smartphone came to be, and COVID-19 wouldn't have made it worse, because everyone could "stay in touch" so easily.
SMS is not a real connection, nor is any messaging. Phone and video calls are a decent thing, but nothing, nothing, nothing will EVER beat being in someone's actual physical presence.
Yeah I had to email it to them and they never check their Telegram. The only other Android I know is a group chat of friends and there’s the one Android that’s ruining it.Well, jMO but some of us in the real world don't notice or care.
We just text people and move on.
I know what you mean though, tried to send a PDF to an android and it wouldn't go through.
I think I had to use messenger. but life goes on regardless
Pics and videos aren’t as good. We’re trying to get get it moved over to Signal but one of the iPhone users won’t download it. The Android user did and the pic quality improved. The sms group chat isn’t used as much.
One of my friends is one of the only iPhones at his work but they all went to Signal. He said they all have a better time communicating now and he said pics no longer look like fuzzy squares.
I don't think Apple should adopt the Android RCS messenger protocol. Let's be realistic there are only two real platforms Apple and Android. Apple hasn't been banging on about asking Android to support iMessage. To be honest I don't know what all the fuss is about. I have a relative who uses an Android phone and if I want to send her photos I just send them via email. For normal text messaging using SMS it works fine. The majority of my family and friends use iPhones so I don't really notice any issues except for this one person. Also there are already cross platform chat apps like WhatsApp where Android and Apple users can talk in groups and send media back and forth. I don't know why Google is making such a big fuss about this. Google calls it an open standard but it's really only Android phones (one half of the two dominant platforms) that support it. Nobody uses Windows Phones anymore do they? I think this is really about Google trying to take market share from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Are we really that concerned with what Drake has to say? He's really just after publicity and he's jumped onto something topical.