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A few days ago, Google posted a video on how RCS can bridge the messaging gap between iOS and Android. But Apple doesn’t need RCS, or at least the half-baked version it is now.
Google’s “unofficial text explanation” video explains that “Texts Go Green” refers to the phenomenon when an iPhone user is blocked or an Android user tries to text. A sarcastic message at the end of the video says it’s a problem Apple can solve by using Rich Communication Services) RCS.
Green bubbles have long been part of the Apple community. In the default Messages app, blue chat bubbles mean an iPhone-to-iPhone conversation. When an iPhone user is texting an Android user, the chat bubbles are green.
It has become a meme over the years and Google claimed in January 2022 that Apple is using these different colors to bully Android users.
Those green chats are text messages and there is a real social effect because SMS does not support rich iMessage features. Some, such as comments on messages, are broken if an Android user is in a group chat with an iPhone user.
An iPhone user can long press a chat to give them a heart, thumbs up, or other response. The Android user sees a text version of the emoji instead of a graphical representation: “[User] loved [text message]†
Google did roll out support for these features in 2021, but still claims that green bubbles can be solved with RCS.
Rich communication services
RCS is a messaging protocol designed as the successor to the older SMS and MMS protocols. It supports iMessage-like features in all text messages.
green bubble
Formed in 2007 it was brought into the GSM Association where it was slowly refined. Features have been added over the years, such as group chat, file transfer, visual voicemail, and even chatbots in 2017.
In 2018, Google announced it was partnering with major carriers to use RCS. Verizon rolled out support starting in 2022, while the other carriers supported it earlier.
Read receipts, group messages, encryption, stickers and more are all features that iPhone users enjoy. RCS would bring those features to Android phones and just wait for Apple.
But the rollout of RCS was messy. Not all carriers and devices support the protocol and it can be implemented in various ways, such as encryption.
Unlike iMessage, end-to-end encryption is not built into RCS. Carriers and companies can add such encryption if desired. Google added support for this encryption in 2020, but only for one-to-one conversations.
Messaging apps
Like SMS, RCS relies on an active phone number. Texting is tied to a mobile bill and can disappear if a payment is missed or due to other cellular network fraud.
In iMessage, chats can be sent from a phone number or email address associated with an Apple ID. No SIM card is required for conversations with other Apple users.
Google offers standard RCS communication in its Android Messages app. No matter how many messaging apps Google uses, Android users can have those rich features as long as Google supports RCS.
The tech giant is notorious for abandoning products. Dozens of hardware, software, and services have failed over the years. RCS cannot rely on Google if its purpose is to replace SMS.
Apple doesn’t need RCS
People with iPhones won’t stop texting their Android friends just because a green bubble pops up. And the iMessage stigma is only in the United States. Internationally, alternatives have a much higher acceptance rate.
If a shared experience with features that everyone can enjoy is desired, there are third-party apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to fill the gap.
These apps support extensive features that both ecosystems can enjoy because they use the same app. These apps do not use iMessage or SMS which makes them universal. Only an internet connection is required.
Texting on a smartphone
Apple probably didn’t create iMessage as a way to get people to stick with iOS in the beginning, but the platform has certainly grown that way. It’s basically a social network, one that Apple can upgrade without waiting for industry associations and carriers.
Apple has also shown no interest in releasing an iMessage app for Android. In the past, it was revealed that Apple executives said an Android version is possible but would “hurt us more than it would help”.
Encryption and other enhanced features are advantages that RCS has over SMS, but for now it seems the only way Apple will support it if SMS were to disappear altogether.
RCS won’t fix anything for iPhone owners that can’t already be fixed. The protocol was more likely to replace SMS if its implementation began in 2007 around the release of the iPhone.
For the time being, RCS is only an alternative and not yet a standard. Despite adoption by some carriers and some businesses, it’s too little, too late unless Google makes significant changes and improvements.