Is Apple making New Year’s resolutions? Is Apple trying to reserve a spot on Santa’s nice list? Or is it giving in to peer (Google) pressure? While it could be a little bit of all three options or more peer pressure than anything else, in a surprising turn of events, Apple is hopping on the bandwagon of using RCS messaging. Apple joining the herd by forfeiting its iMessage platform (even though not entirely) is a complete (and shocking) deviation from its usual way of functioning. Rather than flying solo, they have decided to take this step towards making life easier for many people out there, including themselves.
Apple has officially announced its plans to integrate support for the Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging standard on iPhones. The company is expected to roll out software in the coming year to enable iOS devices to support RCS. Currently, RCS is a widely adopted messaging standard for Android phones, offering enhanced features compared to traditional SMS, such as read receipts, typing indicators, and improved multimedia sharing. It is stated that Apple’s decision is aimed at promoting interoperability and ameliorating the messaging experience for iPhone users.
What is RCS?
Old news for Android users, but very new territory for iPhone users. In 2008, the GSM association, a mobile network trade group, identified RCS as a potential successor to the Short Message Service (SMS) texting system. Unlike SMS, which operates over a carrier’s bandwidth, RCS functions over the internet, allowing support for advanced features such as GIFs, high-resolution photos and videos, group messaging, and end-to-end encryption.
In 2018, Google introduced Chat, a messaging protocol based on the RCS Universal Profile, a global standard for implementing RCS. This joint venture involved major cell phone carriers and countries to communicate seamlessly. Chat has evolved to resemble apps like iMessage, offering features such as branded informational messaging from businesses, content sharing like images and GIFs, live updates on travel details, and the potential for users to select airline seats within Android Messages. Despite being hardware-agnostic and designed for use across various devices, Chat had not gained support on iOS. Until it did, right now.
Did Google’s continuous pressure sway Apple?
Google has been actively advocating for Apple to adopt the RCS messaging standard through its #GetTheMessage campaign. They argued that adopting RCS would provide a more modern and feature-rich messaging experience compared to SMS, which has been around for decades and now needed to bid adieu. However, wrapping SMS in shrouds to give it a proper burial service was impossible because Apple stuck to it like glue. Despite all efforts, Apple did not get the message, literally and metaphorically. This was mainly because Apple prioritised their consumers’ privacy more than anything else. Everything else came in second.
Apple held out for as long as they could. They publicly said no to RCS and shunned Google’s efforts to get them to hop on board. The resilience was commendable. Initially, Apple was never going to consider RCS as an option. However, they have had a change of heart and even though the feature will not be immediately available, it will eventually be available at some point in the future. Which is so much better than never. A considerable number of parties are rejoicing about this decision, but no one is as happy as Google (and Samsung of course) because now, Apple can also be an active participant in cross-platform messaging that does not involve moving mountains to get a simple emoji across. As mentioned in Forbes, a Google spokesperson stated that the company is “happy to see Apple take their first step by coming on board to embrace RCS” and its work with GSMA to “make messaging more equitable and secure”. The individual also mentioned that RCS would complement iMessage, suggesting that both messaging systems would coexist. An approach that indicates that Apple plans to integrate RCS into its messaging ecosystem sans replacing existing services entirely.
Apple’s previous dislike of giving RCS a chance was the root cause of many difficulties. Apple has a history of not being nice to any software/hardware that was not designed in-house. Therefore, even when it came down to messaging, they were adamant about staying faithful to iMessaging. The use of it proved to be incompatible when chatting with anyone who owned an Android phone. Videos that were sent between iOS and Android were often lost in the void because of the consistent glitches. For longer than one can remember, Apple has been placing trust in SMS and MMS to address this digital divide. Even amidst Apple’s persistence, RCS was already backed by major players like Google, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Therefore, Apple joining the team will actually seal the deal. The change is scheduled to happen during the second half of 2024. This means that the support feature could make its appearance with the next version of iOS, which usually pulls into the driveway somewhere in September.
This transformation happened against the backdrop of not only Google’s pestering but also the pressure that was put on Apple by regulators urging the tech giant to adopt the RCS standard. For example, The Cupertino, California-based company is in talks to overhaul its iPhone and iPad software in the EU to adhere to the requirements of the region’s Digital Markets Act. Apple is currently under the radar of EU regulators who are on the watch to penalise tech companies who create uneven playing fields. Additionally, Apple’s decision to add support for RCS, coincidentally (or not) happened adjacent to Nothing; a small phone brand revealing their plans to enable iMessage on Android.
From Tim Cook jokingly asking one of Apple’s customers (who raised concerns about the Android-iOS texting issues, because he had an iPhone and his mother had an Android) to get his mom an iPhone to even considering RCS messaging is a big leap. It is also clear that a majority of this decision was made for them by the forces that put pressure on them. On Apple’s part, it is definitely a strategic decision to avoid penalties. While it does remain uncertain whether messages from Android devices will continue to display as green bubbles on iPhones when the messaging systems become more compatible, it will be interesting to see who gets the last laugh once Apple actually inculcates RCS in their systems.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)