While you were searching for more video game news, you may have spotted something below the search bar. Underneath millions of Googles happening today, there is a message (advertisement? PSA?) telling us: "Help make texting better between iPhone and Android. #GetTheMessage".
The link connected to that hashtag leads us to a website telling us that Apple, needs to "fix texting". This is on the Android website, the phone operating service owned by Google.
Reading closer into the website, it makes bold claims. It says that Apple uses "outdated tech" for group messages between iPhone and Android, and Apple should switch to something called "RCS". But what is that? According to Digital Times, RCS is a proposed replacement for the SMS system, introduced in the '90s. It was used all the way through to the iPhone, but has its confines, including character limits.
Rich Communication Services was formed in '07, but like a lot of technology, it took a while for it to be adopted. When Google started to use RCS in Android, it was mostly used to catch up to iMessage, which allowed rich communication through its own protocol. Of course, since Apple owns a dominating marketspace of phones, and since the protocols aren't compatible, iMessage just seemed more appealing to more people.
That's a problem for Google, as that might bring a person to buy and use an iPhone, instead of dealing with the "green bubbles". Green bubbles, or what an iPhone user sees when an Android user texts them, have been talked about online. If someone has green bubbles, some of their peers may think less of them.
So should Apple follow Google's pleas, and support RCS? It certainly wouldn't be in the best interest of Apple. If they continue to make it obvious to other people that someone has an Android, and it is more difficult to talk to them, then people won't want to buy an Android. And basically the only other choice is the iPhone (Windows or Fire phone, anyone?).
But for the general texting public, Apple switching to RCS would be a better, more connected world. Having the ability to text over Wi-Fi, send likes on texts and more with people on a different phone system is much more convenient. But Apple probably won't switch, so for now this dream of unified texting only exists in Google HQ.
#tech #google #apple #text #RCS #SMS #iphone #android #imessage #chat