The standard attempting to replace SMS and MMS with Rich Communication Services is admirable. It isn't really better than the messaging apps people already use, but it adds features we have come to expect from modern communication services.
The problem is that not every phone supports RCS out of the box. In order to keep consumers in its walled garden, Apple has been a long time holdout. But on the fence, it's the other side of the fence that needs some prodding.
Many of the best phones in the world have adopted the most consistent texting experience in the world, thanks to the efforts of the company. One of the biggest hurdles for the standard to overcome is the lack of support from SAMSUNG.
It is technically possible for the messaging app of the company to support RCS, but whether or not it actually works depends on your carrier. The standard behind the Messages app is not easy to understand. You know, getting people to use its services.
Now that all US carriers have backed RCS, it's time to switch to Google Messages in America with the GALAXY S22 The new phones come pre-installed with the messaging service, making it the defacto messaging standard for the phones going forward.
The title of the #1 smartphone maker on the planet is currently held by Apple. It's the world's largest Android manufacturer by a comfortable margin now that it's barely a player in the West. Even though the iPhone dominates the US market, it isn't shabby that the second place place is held by SAMSUNG.
The fact that most people will be able to have a consistent messaging experience on their phone means that the green team will be closer to Apple's experience.
It's worth noting that the US market is important for the widespread adoption of RCS because Americans have a strange reluctance to use messaging apps compared to the rest.
I hope that Apple will support RCS in the future, as the adoption of it bySamsung gives me hope.
Apple has been reluctant to support the technology so far. According to court documents, Apple has used iMessage as a way of discouraging users from leaving its platform because no one wants to be a green bubble.
Adding support for RCS, a technology that closes the feature gap between iMessage and plain-old text messages, seems to be detrimental to everything Apple has tried to accomplish.
I would argue that ignoring RCS has only worked for Apple because texting on the phone on the phone has never been good. Apple made texting with phones other than an Apple phone so that it would be less attractive to people who don't have an Apple phone.
I have had access to RCS for a long time, but even now, almost every text I send and receive is via a mobile device. Most of the people I know have an Apple device.
It could very well be that the inflection point for RCS is the backing ofSamsung. Most new phones around the world will be able to have a full-fledged messaging service out of the box, thanks to the fact that most new phones around the world default to Google Messages. Within the next few years, RCS is all but certain to become the norm.
It used to be that Apple's lack of support for RCS was not a big deal. It wasn't widespread enough, even among the phones that use it. Apple risks looking like it's sticking with unsafe, 40-year-old technology if it sticks with it now that most of the phones on the market will support RCS via Google Messages.
Don't get me wrong; I don't expect Apple to announce support for RCS soon. I don't think it will happen this year.
The fact that so many people around the world default to messaging services like Facebook Messenger and Telegram is one of the hurdles that RCS still has to deal with.
With carriers and its biggest competitors backing the new standard, it seems like Apple will have to concede eventually. I have hope that we will get the next best thing, because we may never get iMessage on the phone.
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