The first text message in history was written just 30 years ago today by a software engineer and it said “Merry Christmas”. Google recalled the anniversary in a blog post where it extolled the virtues of RCS or Rich communication serviceironically the messaging protocol with which those in Mountain View want to withdraw SMS, and a reproach to Apple for not supporting it.
Much rained after the first SMS. More than rain there was a storm with its own name: WhatsApp, although we also cannot forget other alternatives to the popular instant messaging application. With those clouds hanging over us, at MWC 2016, Google and a group of carriers announced an agreement to implement the RCS standard as a successor to SMS. Of those on board, Microsoft, and among those absent, the most famous was Apple. After all, RCS would be a competitor to your iMessage service.
What exactly is RCS?. More or less, the idea of RCS is that the messages application is able to offer functions similar to those of instant messaging applications: chats, sending photos and videos, voice notes… all without the need for install additional applications, since this would come by default in your terminal. Being a standard and not an application, carriers, manufacturers and third parties could customize the technology. And the best: all these interfaces would be compatible with each other. Come on, like you can talk to someone on WhatsApp from Telegram and vice versa. If you try to communicate with someone who does not have this standard on their phone, it will arrive in SMS format.
Apple continues into its thirteen years and it is something that bites a googleJudging from the comments of Neena Budhiraja, the blog post author and Google Messages Group Product Manager: “Most of the mobile world uses RCS, but there is one company that is lagging behind. After 30 years of SMS, it really is time”
For this he uses several reasons, among which of course the universality of a protocol making it possible to standardize instant messaging on all devices, but also security through encryption, an enriched chat experience with real-time indicators of write and read receipts.
But all that glitters is not gold, although the feeling looking at the sector is that RCS was late in the courier war and with few weapons. What is clear is that if RCS also reached Apple, native communication between Android phones and iPhones would take several steps forward. Or what amounts to the same, we would gain a more current communication experience and we would also forget the green and blue messages.
Google’s product manager explains that “most carriers and manufacturers have adopted RCS as the standard, with the exception of Apple”. But Apple is not just anyone: its footprint in the sector is undeniable. And he has already shown many times that he not only doesn’t care, but that he Cupertino appears to be comfortable going it alone. In fact, Europe had to arrive to force it to take the plunge of abandoning lightning in favor of the universal USB-C port.
Neena Budhiraja ends up being adamant and throwing a cable (USB-C, huh): “Apple refuses to adopt RCS and continues to rely on SMS when people with iPhones send messages to other people who have Android , which means that his messaging is rooted in the 90s. I hope Apple gets the message.”
