Andrew Orr
In the middle of a push by Google to make Apple adopt the RCS messaging standard, a Google executive admits it's been a messy and incomplete process.
In recent months, the company has urged Apple to adopt the Rich Communication Services standard. In August, Android created a website highlighting some of the interoperability between Android and iOS.
Some issues include broken group chats, lack of end-to-end encryption and typing indicators, low-quality media, and more. Android believes Apple can solve these problems by adopting RCS.
Still, even Google admits it's half-baked. In a press briefing on October 18, Jan Jedrzejowicz, head of product for Messages by Google, said Google still hasn't finalized the RCS specification.
"There is still quite a lot of shifting and changing in the underlying protocol," he said, talking about pending features such as end-to-end encryption for group chats. "It's just a question of maturity."
Unlike iMessage, end-to-end encryption is not built-in to RCS. However, carriers and companies can add such encryption if they choose. Google added support for this encryption in 2020 but only for one-on-one conversations.
Google also needs to bring RCS to Google Voice. "We recognize that every messaging app that supports SMS, including Google Voice, should update to RCS, but we don't have any news today," Jedrzejowicz added.
For now, RCS is merely an alternative and not yet a standard. Despite adoption by some carriers and companies, even Google admits it needs to make more changes and improvements.
The company also needs to settle on one messaging app for consumers that it will support indefinitely. Google is notorious for killing off services, and pass messengers it has created and killed include Allo, Hangouts on Air, YouTube Messages, Google Spaces, Google Talk, Meebo, and soon - Google Hangouts.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
27 Comments
I dunno how Google expects sympathy from Apple after all they've done. Remember when they refused to license turn by turn directions on the iPhone forcing Apple to adopt tomtom's maps to create their own mapping software. Not to mention Google's Schmidt, Page, and Brin friendship betrayal with Apple.
What are the spying advantages for Google if RCS is used, in short what’s in it for them? By the way iMessage was created because Mac’s and iPhone weren’t being supported, by existing message apps similar to what is currently happening with AAA games, which means if Apple want’s anything to happen they probably will need to roll up their sleeves again and get directly involved in development in-house.
In the last twenty-four Apple has had to built/create just everything to support their ecosystems to survive physical Apple stores, Apple Pay, Apple Watch, iPod, IPhone, iPad, SOC’s, continuous development of a OS desktop and mobile, Apple Maps etc etc…If Apple doesn’t do it to support their ecosystem who will? third parties are inadequate system wide.
I’m a devout iPhone Apple ecosystem user, but I’d have no problem I’d Apple were to adopt RCS. In fact, I detest having the green bubble issue because so many other people I work with or in my family/friends don’t have iPhones, it destroys group chats. Incredibly frustrating!!!! If Apple were to adopt RCS I don’t see a mass exodus to Android, won’t happen. If anything they’ll be an even split of swap adopters AND I’d bet far more iPhone users would be much happier. I know quite a few users who would be too.
In my family of 5, only 1 is Google user….we
don’t have a problem of group chats….i must be missing something here??
Why would we want RCS? Specially when it offers no encryption at all. Why would Apple destroy what they have built for an inferior standard? Google needs to suck up to Apple and get access to the iMessage API. Crying and whining like this in public just makes them seem even more infantile