Google is stepping up its campaign to drive support for the universal RCS text messaging standard by increasing the pressure on the biggest holdout: Apple.
Google is stepping up its campaign to drive support for the universal Rich Communication Services (RCS) text messaging standard by increasing the pressure on the biggest holdout: Apple.
A new full-page spread on Google’s Android website is encouraging fans of open text messaging standards to “Help @Apple #GetTheMessage” and expand beyond its proprietary and exclusive iMessage platform to allow for more full-featured text messaging between iPhone and Android users.
Many hoped RCS would come to iOS 16, but there’s been no evidence that Apple has any intention of natively supporting the new technology. Instead, when someone using an iPhone sends a text message to an Android device, it falls back to using SMS/MMS. Meanwhile, iOS 16 adds some nice messaging improvements that will only be available when conversing with folks who are also using iOS 16 devices.
This isn’t the first salvo in Google’s fight to get Apple to embrace RCS. Earlier this year, Google executives pointedly accused Apple of “using peer pressure and bullying as a way to sell products.”
Citing a Wall Street Journal report, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google senior vice president, claimed that the iPhone’s built-in messaging platform effectively divides users into the “haves” and “have-nots.” This is especially prevalent among teens, who the WSJ says “dread the green bubble” — the color used for messages sent using SMS/MMS technology rather than Apple’s more feature-rich iMessage platform.
However, the problem goes much deeper than color choices, and Google’s campaign clearly says “it’s not about the color of the bubbles — iPhone users get a bad texting experience.
