Google teases iPhone on finally using RCS messaging with Pixel devices

Google has welcomed Apple iPhones to the world of Rich Communication Services (RCS) with a humourous video. The company released a video of a Pixel and an iPhone chatting about Apple’s historic decision to adopt RCS.

Google Pixel and iPhone communicate on RCS platform

Ever since the first iPhone, Apple attempted to create a different class with iMessages. iMessage and Android’s messaging platforms weren’t truly compatible. Apple often degraded the messaging experience whenever iOS detected an Android device was communicating with an iPhone.

Apple hasn’t exactly blurred this division by adopting RCS. However, the company now allows third-party app store support, third-party NFC payments (in the EU), and RCS texting.

As part of Google’s #BestPhonesForever series on YouTube, the search giant has reportedly welcomed Apple’s decision to finally adopt RCS. In the video, a Google Pixel and an Apple iPhone talk about how the two have had “communication issues” in the past.

Google Pixel appreciates the iPhone finally deciding to switch to RCS in the video. However, Google doesn’t miss the chance to reiterate that RCS is the modern standard for texting that other phones have been using for a while.

Why is Google teasing Apple about adopting RCS?

Android devices far outnumber iPhones, at least outside the US. And Google had been trying hard to establish a common messaging platform between the two mobile operating systems.

Apple’s iMessage has its own merits. However, RCS is equally secure and reliable. By adopting RCS, Apple has unlocked the ability to send much higher-quality media between Android and iOS. Some of the other benefits of using a common communication platform are:

• Typing and “read” receipts
• Improved group chats
• Reacting to texts
• Sending GIFs

Additionally, being on the same messaging platform allows messages to be end-to-end encrypted. It is important to note that encrypted RCS chats aren’t available on iOS yet.

Incidentally, third-party messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and others offer end-to-end encryption. Hence, by introducing RCS to iOS, Apple has benefitted users in regions where users don’t primarily use third-party apps for messaging.

Due to Apple’s iMessage, the “Green Bubble, Blue Bubble” implies a clear demarcation between iOS and Android. Strangely, this distinction hasn’t been eliminated. Although Apple’s iOS now accepts messages from the RCS platform, the blue bubble and green bubble remain, and it still distinguishes Android users in a chat.