The biggest holdout of the universal Rich Communication Services text messaging standard is Apple.
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Fans of open text messaging standards are encouraged to help Apple get the message by spreading the word on the new full-page spread on the website of the search engine.
There is no evidence that Apple is going to support the new technology in the new version of the software. When someone uses an Apple device to send a text message to another device, it goes back to using a mobile messaging service. There are some nice messaging improvements that will only be available when talking to people who are using the same device as you.
This isn't the first time that Apple has been targeted in the fight to adopt RCS. Apple has been accused of using peer pressure and bully to sell products.
Apple’s iMessage lock-in is a documented strategy. Using peer pressure and bullying as a way to sell products is disingenuous for a company that has humanity and equity as a core part of its marketing. The standards exist today to fix this. https://t.co/MiQqMUOrgn
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) January 8, 2022
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the built-in messaging platform of the iPhone effectively divides users into two categories. The WSJ says that teens are more likely to read the green bubble than Apple's more feature-rich platform.
The problem goes much deeper than the color of the bubbles, and according to the campaign, it is not about the bubbles at all. There are specific examples, such as tiny and blurry photos and videos, an inability to leave group conversations, and more.
Lockheimer's comments aren't just pointing fingers. It was possible for Apple to bring non-iPhone users into the fold a long time ago. In a revelation that surprised almost nobody, court filings released in Apple's fight with Epic Games included email conversations between Apple executives where Apple Senior VPs Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi concurred that iMessage locks users into the iPhoneecosystem.
Federighi said that "iMessage on Android would simply serve to remove an obstacle to iPhone families giving their kids Android phones"
Apple doesn't have a lot of incentive to embrace RCS. While regulatory pressures may eventually force Apple's hand, the company has tried to point to third-party messaging platforms as examples of how iMessage doesn't "really" lock users in. The popularity of these services makes it hard to argue against that point. In many countries, third-party apps have become the defacto messaging standards for users of the operating system, since the native messaging solutions were a mess for a long time.
RCS offers enhanced messaging features like read receipts and typing indicators that overcome the somewhat archaic limitations of SMS/MMS messaging, which haven't been meaningfully updated. RCS is an open standard, not something that was created by a single company.
It isn't new as a standard. A new mobile industry standard intended to replace the aging SMS/MMS technology was proposed over a decade ago.
Unfortunately, since that group is made up of over 800 carriers around the world, it never succeeded in gaining much traction until it was included in the chat service. Instead of pushing hard enough, it left things to the carriers with predictable results.
The carriers formed a group called the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative to try and standardize the way they communicate. Although the initiative failed two years later, the silver lining is that it allowed Google to take a more active role.
The carriers would have been hesitant to adopt end-to-end encryption. Universal support is ensured since it will be a core part of the Google chat experience and not dependent on carrier implementations.
Apple is still the most significant holdout in the adoption of RCS. People who are frustrated with the poor experience and media articles that criticize Apple for its failure to get with the program have taken to social media. It encourages everyone else to add their voice to the chorus by using the #GetTheMessage and "stop breaking my texting experience" It's not clear whether or not this helps, but it's quite the spectacle.
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