by LuxetechGoogle’s responds to Apple, iPhone users will now get notifications that an Android user’reacted’ to their text.
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𝖴𝗉𝖽𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖦𝗈𝗈𝗀𝗅𝖾’𝗌 𝖬𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗉𝗉 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖽𝖾 𝗂𝗇-𝗅𝗂𝗇𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗉𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗅𝖾 𝗆𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖺𝗀𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀.
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𝖲𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝗉𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝖱𝖢𝖲, 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝖼𝗁 𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖻𝗂𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖠𝗉𝗉𝗅𝖾’𝗌 𝗂𝖬𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖺𝗀𝖾.
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𝖡𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝖱𝖢𝖲 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗌 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗍, 𝗂𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗌𝗎𝗉𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝖺𝗌 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖺 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌.
The latest updates to the company’s Messages app escalate its battle with Apple, making texting between iPhones and Androids even more annoying than it already is.
If you use Android, you’ll appreciate the updates. New features in Google Messages include the ability to reply to individual messages, star them, and set text-message reminders. However, these features and some other Messages updates are RCS-enabled, which means they won’t be very compatible with SMS, the texting standard that iMessage switches to when messaging someone who doesn’t have an iPhone. iPhones use iMessage, Apple’s proprietary messaging system, but texting an Android uses SMS
𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞
As part of Google’s retaliation against Apple, when Messages users respond to an SMS text with an emoji, iPhone users will receive a text saying the other person reacted to their text, along with a description of whatever emoji the person used. It’s similar to how iMessage users respond to SMS text messages, with the recipient receiving a “so and so loved” message instead of the heart emoji reaction.
Rich Communications Services, or RCS, was chosen in 2008 to conceivably replace the SMS texting standard, which dates back to the 1990s, and is the target of Google’s campaign to persuade Apple to transition. RCS can allow more multimedia capabilities on messages compared to SMS, making it simpler to communicate things like GIFs and high-resolution films. It can also improve group messaging. RCS doesn’t require a carrier’s bandwidth; rather, it operates via the internet. The Verge claims that RCS text messaging would function similarly to iMessages between iPhone users.
Google Messages users, for example, will be able to watch YouTube videos in the app, and can create a calendar event if a date or time is sent in a message, just like iMessage users.
Google wants to steer more carriers and developers away from SMS and toward RCS. RCS has been promised by carriers such as AT&T and Verizon, as well as manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.
“From a Google point of view, we believe that every Android user should simply have messaging over Wi-Fi,” Sanaz Ahari, Google’s manager of Android and business communications, told The Verge. She went on to say that there are “a lot of conversations” between the Android and Apple ecosystems.
In August, Android launched a website page criticizing Apple for failing to “adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other.” The page includes buttons that direct users to Twitter, where they can tweet at Apple to “stop breaking my texting experience. #GetTheMessage,” as well as a link to Android’s page pleading with Apple to “fix texting.”
“We would much prefer that everyone adopts RCS, which has the capability of supporting proper reactions,” Jan Jedrzejowicz, Google Messages product manager, said in a briefing prior to the Messages updates’ announcement. “However, if that isn’t possible or hasn’t happened yet, this seems like the next smartest solution.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently stated that he does not receive a lot of feedback from iPhone users that Apple needs to fix messaging between iPhones and Androids. Apple, too, has almost no incentive to do so. An Apple executive stated in legal documents from a 2021 lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple, “Moving iMessage to Android will hurt us more than help us.”