Newsletter
Apple shocked everyone yesterday when it announced that RCS support is coming to iPhones next year. Apple said that it would happen “later” next year, and Google actually reacted to Apple’s RCS epiphany.
As many of you know, Google has been openly pressuring Apple to adopt RCS. The company had a marketing campaign going out, asking everyone to help Apple “get the message”. Apple decided to yield, though Google’s campaign is probably not the reason.
Chances are that the EU would pressure Apple into doing so eventually either way. So, the company likely decided to react early and get things sorted. We’re only guessing, though, of course.
Google reacts to Apple’s RCS epiphany
Now, Google reacted to the news by releasing an official statement. The company said: “Everyone deserves to communicate with each other in ways that are modern and secure, no matter what phone they have. That’s why we have worked closely with the mobile industry to accelerate the adoption of RCS, and we’re happy to see Apple take their first step today by coming on board to embrace RCS”.
The company continued: “We welcome Apple’s participation in our ongoing work with GSMA to evolve RCS and make messaging more equitable and secure, and look forward to working with them to implement this on iOS in a way that works well for everyone”.
So, Google basically promised to help Apple implement RCS on iOS. One thing to note is that SMS will still be available on iPhones, of course. The same goes for all other devices that support RCS through Google Messages, or otherwise.
Apple reaffirmed that iMessage will stay “the best and most secure” messaging choice for Apple users
As a reminder, in Apple’s statement yesterday, the company referred to iMessage as the “best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users”. Apple’s messaging service is not going anywhere, but it will be joined by RCS support.
Needless to say, that will be a step forward. It will allow better communication between Android and iOS users, allowing them to send images, videos, and so on, between platforms, out of the box. Think of it as crossplay, kind of.