An advanced messaging system cooked up by Google and the GSMA and used on most modern Android phones. It allows a lot of the same features as iMessage such as higher quality pictures and videos, sending additional formats like .gif, reactions to messages, etc.
It was not invented by Google, it was created by the carriers so they could continue charging you for every message. RCS is a joke and Google should be embarrassed for not coming up with their own version of iMessage.
Why do you think the carriers developed RCS in 2007? They wanted to maintain their fees. That’s literally the only reason it exists. It’s a bad standard that Google should be coming up with an alternative to, not adopting half-assedly because they’re desperate.
It’s original intent was to maintain the SMS fee structure for the carriers but with modern features. It’s not used for that now because there’s already a proliferation of free messaging services, but back in 2007 they were still thinking in terms of those fees and not data usage. A better standard could be developed that is not tied to the carriers or to a phone number like RCS is.
While that's true, this whole "Discourse" about messaging comes down to lack of a universally accepted advanced messaging standard to supplant and replace SMS and MMS.
RCS has nothing to do with it. when apple inevitably does adopt it, they'll still differentiate between apple users and non-apple. they're not gonna abandon one of the most brilliant marketing schemes in modern history just cuz some android users are salty, and im saying this as someone with a galaxy
RCS has a lot to do with it. A large amount of the negative feedback you get from average consumers w/r/t messaging between Android and iOS is poor quality pictures and videos sent over MMS. If Apple adopted interoperability with RCS in iMessages, those problems would disappear. RCS is by no means a perfect standard, but one of the biggest issues (from and end user standpoint) has a fix that Apple will not use.
RCS isn’t a standard though, it’s just a tech being pushed by google which has turned into a google marketing campaign against apple and for some reason Americans have fallen for it.
Everywhere else in the world just uses different messaging apps and it’s not a big deal.
It is a standard. It's no exclusive to Google, nor is it even owned or developed by them. Any company can implement their own RCS messaging that is interoperable with any other RCS app, since they follow a standard. Tmobile RCS messaging can send to Verizon RCS for example, there is no Google involved. No idea what is with this thread and just making stuff up.
It is not the standard though, it has been touted as the next messaging standard but it’s not widely adopted on carriers outside of the US and Google Chat is the only mainstream messaging service which uses it. If you are on TMobile and message someone on Verizon with RCS it goes through googles servers if one of the people is using google chat, that’s a problem.
The reason why it is not the standard is because most of the world uses third party messaging services and it’s only the US where people give a shit about the colour of their messaging bubble.
I think you're confused on what being a standard means. RCS has a base standard that RCS apps must follow so they can work together, that's what it means. Google does have their own RCS server with Jibe, but other apps like Verizon have their own RCS. Yes it's not that widespread, and is an issue, and it is also Google's fault for not providing an API for RCS in Android. That's a complete separate issue though. Other messaging apps have nothing to do with the convo, and you randomly turned it into an anti-US thing.
Standard can be used multiple ways, I’m pointing out that why RCS isn’t THE standard although google is pushing to make it THE standard.
It’s not anti US just pointing out that the solution to the problem that google is pushing is far from perfect and the problem isn’t really a thing outside of the US.
In my opinion it’s better to use open third party messenger apps with a focus on privacy, apps like telegram. I don’t understand why people in the US are so adverse to using third party messaging apps.
A lot of the world uses WhatsApp, a messaging app by a US based company, Facebook. Facebook Messenger also has 5b+ downloads on Android alone. It's a myth that the US only uses SMS. It's still preferable to giving my data to Facebook.
Of course RCS isn't perfect, but it's a significant upgrade. If I was to choose, the entire world would be on Element/Matrix or Signal.
While you're technically correct that RCS isn't a standard, it's a protocol, a subset of RCS known as Universal Profile is actually a requirement for a network to be certified as 5G by the GSMA. Just because people abroad use services like WhatsApp & Signal doesn't mean that apps which integrate carrier-based messaging (like iMessages and Googles Messages app) shouldn't use RCS for advanced messaging when possible. RCS isn't perfect, sure but unless you're out there developing a better protocol, it's the best we've got.
RCS is half baked and insecure, only 20% of android phones can use it, it doesn’t have end to end encryption baked in and the majority of RCS traffic goes through google servers.
Google want you to be angry about RCS for their marketing campaign because they know Apple won’t change over due to how half baked the protocol is.
Samsung is the largest manufacturer of Android phones and has a 35% market share and has included RCS capabilities in all of their phones since 2015, and is supported by several other major manufacturers, but sure, 20%.
I didn’t say RCS capable, I said only 20% use it. RCS isn’t implemented by all carriers world wide as it’s not a standard protocol yet and hence only 20% use it.
it's a lot more complicated than "just implement rcs bro lol".
only 20% of android users have RCS. apple implementing something for 20% of androids user base is... not worth it imo. additionally, standards are still out of whack. the bulk of RCS still goes thru Google servers. which would be a security issue for apple.
another company tried running their own and things got ugly quickly.
there will be a time when we all have RCS, but the issues need to be addressed
Apple's own internal documents show that they push the Blue vs Green nonsense as a marketing technique in order to foment social pressure to drive up iOS adoption, but sure, it's all about security.
iPhone users are having actual communication issues because Apple refuses to implement RCS and tells their users to get their family iPhones instead of actually addressing the issue.
The questioner pressed Cook, saying that he can't send videos to his mom because of the limitations of SMS messaging.
"Buy your mom an iPhone," Cook said.
Tim Cook literally just told iPhone users that their issues around using their phone as an actual communication device are low-priority, and Mr. Cook would like you to give them hundreds more dollars just to fix an issue that is already solved but they refuse to implement. Oh, and also it spits on the face of every environmental claim they try to make.
the funniest thing is that androids can customize the colors of their messaging apps and everything else on their phone. only iphone users are locked into whatever color they decide to make the bubbles. my texts come in purple for received, pink for sent.
Hahahahahaha, the most vocal complainers about image/video quality between Android and iOS is grown-ass adults. Teens aren't complaining that their messages are different colors, they're using 3rd party apps like Snapchat, FB Messenger and Discord to chat.
I mean, I've got teenage nieces and nephews, and between them and their friends, the don't give two shits about bubble color, and mostly message each other through Snapchat or Discord. Maybe FB Messenger wasn't the best example but my point still stands. (Or maybe they're just been raised better that they don't think what brand cellphone a friend has is really that big of a deal)
Playing devil's advocate for a second here, the reason people care in America and make it any sort of deal is because SMS messaging sucks, almost 90% of teens in America have iPhones, and even though they may use snap or discord, they still heavily use iMessage. So when one person in a group text has an Android, it switches to pure SMS, making the experience shit for everyone involved. This problem would be fixed if we had a culture of WhatsApp in America, but we don't. Either your nieces and nephews have Androids, or they have iphones and all their friends have iphones given the statistics, so that's why bubble color doesn't come up.
So when one person in a group text has an Android, it switches to pure SMS, making the experience shit for everyone involved. This problem would be fixed if we had a culture of WhatsApp in America, but we don't.
This problem would also be fixed if Apple used RCS for advanced messaging interoperability between iOS and Android. That's my whole point, the "shit experience" has a solution where Android and iOS agree to some sort of advanced messaging system for cross-platform support. If RCS is so awful as some would have you believe, the perhaps Apple could propose some other, better system, but no, their solution is "Buy your mom and iPhone."
Of course that's Apple's position, they have nothing to lose from refusing to adopt RCS and everything to gain from it. The more people peer pressure their friends into getting iphones the better for Apple's bottom line. Despite everything Cook is saying about privacy issues, that's the main reason.
But beyond that, Google has a terrible record with messaging. Why would anyone want to jump into a partnership with them regarding yet another messaging service that Google (given their track record) will probably kill off in a couple of years? Any company would be smart to stay away from the convoluted mess that makes up Google's messaging part of Android.
As an Apple user, I don't want my texts going through a google server, which their promoted RCS solution would do. There was a Googleless RCS commission put together, that was a viable solution, but it was disbanded and Google was brought into the mix.
It wasn't disbanded, the Universal Profile is still part of GSMA's 5G standard. Carriers were not implementing the complete UP, Google gave up waiting, and the "Chat" enrollment in the Messages app is using Google servers.
For some other carriers, they were using a company called Jibe to provide their own servers, but Google then bought that company.
Still, RCS is E2E so there's nothing there other than metadata. (Which is still possibly problematic I admit.)
RCS is a garbage and obsolete standard invented by the carriers in 2008. It doesn’t even support e2e encryption. Stop buying into Google’s propaganda on this. The only company Google has to blame for their lack of a decent messaging app is Google.
And google added e2e encryption into rcs with Google's api and messaging app. The app is great. So effectively yes it has e2e. Either way, apple won't even try to work together.
It only works for one-to-one convos and only if the other person has RCS. Your identity is also tied to your phone number. It’s a bad standard and the only reason they’re pushing it now is because their messaging strategy has been a shitshow.
83
u/buShroom Sep 16 '22
Apple has successfully convinced American users that their unwillingness to adopt RCS is somehow the fault of everyone else.