Google Wants Apple to “Get the Message” and Fix iMessage With RCS

• Apple’s “Walled Garden” was basic to Steve Job’s personality and his business model. Once you succumb to the temptation, and take a bite of the apple, you find yourself a prisoner to his pricing and his products’ idiosyncrasies. It’s all Adam and Eve. (P.S. Study the Apple Logo, and think about it. Steve Job’s legitimate daughter’s name is Eve)

• The only way this happens is if the EU forces Apple to do it and then other nations/governments follow suit.

• Google can detect when I’m thinking about BBQ and start showing me ads.

  But i can’t read “Reaction” texts from apple and just apply that in the message?

  I’ve never understood why Google can’t take the text that states what someones response was and just apply it to the text.

  EDIT** Apparently this is already an option in the beta (That I have checked) but doesn’t seem to be working for me.

  • Pixel already does that…

    • I Did not know that. I guess I would rephrase to “why doesn’t googles Messaging app” do it then

      • It does…

        • It’s supposed to. But as far as I can tell…doesn’t work

        • It’s hit or miss on my Pixel. As far as I can tell, it works on messages that are just text, but it won’t with a pic or video attached.

        • Yeah, it does not work for reactions to images/videos. I’m not sure how Google could make that work properly. But it at least works for the individual messages (for me anyway).

        • Do you have it enabled?

          Works on mine in single and group texts

  • Look in your advanced options, and if the option isn’t there, join the beta.

    If you have an S22, you might need to side load the unskinned version of messages.

    • I’m in the beta. I have that setting checked. Has never worked… I figured it was just another abandoned google server side thing

• Won’t be long before mapple “invents” RCS, to the amazement of their sheeples.

• The color of the bubble needs to be excluded from the conversation because messages between 2 iPhone users will switch to green for sms if they can’t go regular iMessage.

  Just shame Apple for weak security with SMS

  • Thats what I’ve been saying all along. Shame them on the encrypted chat front. They’re opening their users up to vulnerabilities by sticking with an outdated protocol. They claim to be all about security, thats the angle google needs to hammer them on.

    • I used to think the same way, but do average users really care about encrypted messages? How secure do you really need the following conversation to be:

      Becky: Blah blah blah
      Karen: OMG, lol
      Becky: lol, right?!
      Karen: Likes “lol, right?!”

      I don’t think Becky or Karen is concerned about this conversation being “hacked”.

      • Oh, I agree. For general consumer I think they care about high resolution sharing of media with friends and family. I only say security because thats how Apple portrays themselves. They have entire sections in keynotes dedicated to their security/privacy focus. But yea, my wife couldn’t care less about E2E encryption, 2FA or anything else I yell to the clouds.

        • Apple does care about security as long as you have an iPhone. You want security? Get an iPhone and use iMessage. iMessage is one of the biggest selling points Apple has for iPhones. Adopting RCS takes a little away from that.

        • Except that they’re leaving their own users open to a vulnerability by leaving their fallback as SMS vs RCS.

        • True. I think Apple cares more about having something that they hope will pull in more customers.

        • haha..Absolutely. I’m pretty sure some emails leaked that confirmed as such. Oh well..Back to signal I go!

        • you do realize that RCS also falls back on SMS right??

        • If this was your whole “gotcha” moment, you have failed. The whole point is to eliminate the SMS fall back and to evolve messaging as a whole. SMS/MMS is an old standard that was never meant to handle messaging as we use it today. We need to evolve and slowly phase it out.

          The whole point is Google/android is trying to use and expand that standard and operate across platforms. Meanwhile, apple preaches privacy while leaving their users to vulnerabilities that are easily fixed by changing their fallback option.

          Ideally in the future no one will fallback to SMS, but you’ve gotta start somewhere.

        • RCS, like iMessage, requires a data connection, SMS/MMS do not. So guess what? When an RCS message does not go through over data, it’s turns into a regular old SMS/MMS text message. It doesn’t replace SMS/MMS, it enhances the experience… which iMessage already does. So SMS/MMS won’t disappear just because RCS exists.
          And as it stands right now, RCS is not a consistent experience on Android device, I know this from personal experience. There is no gotcha… it is what it is.
          Google has had 20 messaging apps and still has not figured it out. At any rate, the EU will make up some legislation to make Apple comply…

• I was using my Galaxy Fold 3 for months but Google Messages would constantly disconnect and lose the chat feature every day. I gave up and bought an iPhone 13 mini, AW7, and airpods. Enjoying the Apple Ecosystem and it’s been fun messaging others. If Google can’t get their app working why even stay in their platform. Why are they even trying to convince others to join a broken messaging platform. I still plan on returning to Android down the line (got the Tab S8U, Buds, GW4 and F3) but for now Apple has been great.

  • Maybe something with Samsung? I have a Pixel 5 and I never have an issue connecting to the chat feature. I definitely wouldn’t switch to an iPhone just for that. Although the good battery life of iPhones and terrible battery life of Android phones might push me in that direction even though I have iOS and the Apple ecosystem.

• Having been forced from Hangouts to Chat where there are no bubbles and your own messages appear on the same side as the people you’re conversing with, I’m inclined to just switch to Apple so I can stop dealing with Google’s lack of coherent strategy and design.

• Apple will never do it. Only way it will happen is if a new protocol is developed that both ios and android want to adopt.

  Apples entire business plan is to wall people into their garden, adopting RCS would be a door in that wall they don’t want opened.

  • You don’t think Google’s business plan is getting people to use only their products? They make money off of your data.

    Samsung has a walled garden too, where their services and features have to be used with their own products.

    This Apple being the only “walled garden” is BS.

    • It’s not the only Walled Garden, but it is the most expensive Walled Garden and the most restrictive Walled Garden.

      • Most expensive? Have you seen the price of Samsung phones? Most restrictive is debatable. A lot of their services are used by 10s of millions so you’re going to hear more complaints than any other manufacturer. iMessage is probably the most restrictive feature, but they have been better lately with offering services on other platforms.

        • I can use a Samsung watch on a non-samsung phone. Good luck doing that with an Apple watch. That’s what the OP was talking about by most restrictive.

        • Chances are if you have a Samsung watch you have a Samsung phone. When Google releases a decent watch, more than likely you’ll have a Pixel.

• Not happening

• How about just create a dang iMessage competitor instead of begging Apple to support RCS? iMessage has some cool messaging features why not add the features that Allo had onto RCS?

  • Allo was amazing to me!

  • Because it still doesnt solve the biggest issue of cross platform messaging thats encrypted and high quality. The iMessage features of lasers and animoji isnt whats keeping most people. Most people I know who stay on iOS complain about sending photo/video to family.

  • It’s not about the features. Someone with an iPhone sent me a video a couple of weeks ago and it looked like crap because it’s being sent through MMS. If that same video was sent through RCS there would be no need to compress the video.

• Not for nothing, but Google can’t even get RCS working 100% of the time in their Messages app lol. It almost always stops working (until you clear cache/data) if I travel internationally. Since getting back from Dubai/Maldives in May, every time I open the app to text my brother, it says “Chatting with” and then when he responds it says “Texting with”. It’s annoying as hell and I’m not about to tell him to clear his app cache/data.

• I thought I had read somewhere that the EU was gonna force apple to open up their messaging platform to others or otherwise they would have to pay a hefty fine?

• Yet Google still hasn’t updated Google Voice with RCS… so they complain about Apple but one of their own services is still stuck with basic SMS. What gives?

  • Google has been slowly killing Voice now for years. I’m not sure this is surprising, unless you’re just learning that Google is actively killing Voice. I will admit, they are really taking their time with this one, but make no mistake, they have slowly been removing features over the years. Next on the chopping block is forwarding carrier calls for visual voice mail, which is expiring at the end of this month.

    • Screw Google and their feckless roadmap regarding messaging. Support your own GD apps first. Slowly killing GV is just another example of how extremely short sighted this company is. Today its RCS they are pushing, tomorrow it will be something else.

  • To be honest I only have a gv number to give out to “maybe” chicks????

• I just try and use Signal more and more if I can get the people on the other side to do the same. Just Apple being Apple and they won’t change. At least we have options!

• “It’s really Google and Android who are playing catch-up after countless failures in messaging. It’s actually quite rich that Google is putting the blame for frustrations in messaging on Apple when it tells its users to use a new messaging client every couple of years.”

  True, but RCS is a protocol, not an app. And while I don’t think it’s a silver bullet, it’s an industry accepted protocol that Apple is [intentionally?] choosing to ignore.

  • Google needs to force RCS on all messaging apps on android too. I have a lot of contacts running android but they are using Samsung messages or Verizon messages, so when we text it goes thru as sms.

    • This will happen in time, but not the way you stated. New Android phones sold through carriers will all come standard with Google’s Messages app to handle RCS communications. The real issue is that Google still makes the RCS Chat feature opt-in only. SO, unless a user selects “yes” when asked if they want to use RCS, then all messages will default to SMS.

• iMessage reminds me of Blackberry Messenger, we see how that feature went for them. Eventually Apple will fail because locking people into a walled garden always backfires.

  It would be nice if Apple would adopt RCS, however Google can’t control what Apple does. Google can only control Google. What Google can do is
  1. Force all of their OEMs to use RCS/Google Messages only.
  2. Add reactions to non-RCS messages aka to messages back to iPhones.
  3. Add support for tying the number to your Gmail account and allow for offline messaging.
  4. Advertise the capabilities of RCS/Google Messages, part of iMessages success is advertisement through ignorance and bullying. Apple’s strongest skill is marketing things that Google already did.

  Or Google should buy WhatsApp from Facebook fully intergrate WhatsApp into Google Messages

  • lmao! Apple will fail? good one. Seems to be working just fine after all these years.

  • iMessage will never fail because its nothing like Blackberry Messenger. Blackberry Messenger is a locked in messaging system. Requires the sender/ receiver to use Blackberry Messenger. The beauty of iMessage is that it uses one app (the default messaging app on iPhone) and it allows you to have the full features when you text another iPhone, but yet you can still text a non iPhone and messages are still sent and received. I can turn iMessage off on an iPhone and still use the iMessage app and then of course all bubbles iPhone or not are green. Apples not in a hurry to add RCS, nor its a factor that makes or breaks the upgrade cycle of an iPhone user. If Google wants to compete with iMessage it needs to build out its on messaging app that can give features when texting other android users and still text an iPhone all in the same app. Convivence is key in this matter. Google doesnt want to put the money in and making its own servers to achieve this though. Which blows my mind.

    • This comment reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of iMessage vs. the Messages app. iMessage lives within the Messages app, but iMessage is exactly like Blackberry Messenger in the sense that is a locked in messaging system.

      You are 1000% correct that “Convivence is key in this matter.” But this is a convenience that Google cannot replicate, even if it tries. Google cannot, for antitrust reasons, force any messaging app onto Android users, in the way that Apple does and Blackberry did with BBM. Therefore, Google could put all the money in the world into building an Android duplicate of iMessage but if only 2% of Android users use it (Pixel users) then it would not achieve the same level of universal adoption as iMessage. In other words, unless Samsung and Huawei, etc. remove their own branded messaging app (which they won’t do), there can never be an Android version of iMessage.

      • I do believe that Samsung is either going to, or already does use Google Messages (with RCS) on newer phone. Unless I missed something, I thought the S22 was supposed to start that trend. Hopefully that still happens, because that would be a massive chunk of android users in the US on Google JIBE RCS.

    • That is exactly what google is doing. Whenever I text anyone in my family/friend circle who is on android and uses the messages app, I can use RCS and it defaults to SMS/MMS when I text someone not using their app or an iphone. The RCS used in their app runs off their Jibe Mobile servers. Saying google doesnt want to put money into the issue is factually incorrect.

      Apple implementing RCS with google would be beneficial for all users and their experience. They can keep their lasers/celebrations , apple payments, etc, I just want to be able to send my inlaws photos of their grandkids that are clear and don’t look like 1994 Polaroid digital photos.

  • I used to love Blackberry ecosystem, because it was first to consolidate all services into single app. Emails, different chat clients. Available from single apps.
    Those were good days

• I have never had trouble texting between platforms. Google should focus more on actually developing a messaging app that they can stick too long enough to actually market.

Comments are closed.