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Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

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Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#551

Post by sundvor »

matwood wrote: post #439
spiralpolitik wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the trap door in this. Apple is going to implement RCS exactly as the specification says it should be implemented, no more or no less. Any incompatibilities with Android will be laid at Google's door to resolve. Having beaten Apple with the RCS stick for the last year, Google might find themselves now getting beaten back.

Apple also stated they would work to add encryption to the RCS spec, poking Google in the eye with their proprietary model. Of course this might not ever happen, but it's still fun to see big companies taking jabs at each other.

As an Android user with a healthy distaste of Google things, this + parent makes me smile.

(Discontinuing their old magazine features, with nary a month to back up my purchased collection, as a one by one download was the latest thing).

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#552

Post by microflash »

swozey wrote: post #23
baz00 wrote: post #3

Hopefully I can turn it off. I do not know anyone who uses RCS who didn't end up on WhatsApp or Telegram pretty quickly afterwards.

Why would you turn it off? What if you hire a contractor for some work and they need to send you pictures/video from an Android? Or a realtor, mechanic, craigslist seller, or just someone you don't have/want a personal relationship with. You're not adding these people to WhatsApp/Telegram.. I have probably hundreds more phone contacts than people I have on whatsapp.

The reason I'd turn off is because of spam. Everytime RCS was enabled on my phone, I was bombarded with all kinds of nauseating spam. I'd like an option to avoid this infliction.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#553

Post by chimeracoder »

acdha wrote: post #486
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is why I don't buy Google's bad faith shaming of Apple for not adopting RCS. But the point to me is that I don't care whether it's "bad faith" or not, just that (again, to me) it's actually the correct point of view. Messaging integration between iOS and Android, in the US at least, is not just fundamentally broken, but the presence of a single Android user in an iMessage group chat can break the experience fo…

> My feeling is that Apple knows the regulatory winds are shifting very much against anticompetitive behavior, and their iMessage incompatibility was just looking like the blatant protectionism that it is. I think that point would be stronger if anyone else was open. Google used to run an open messaging service but shut it down as part of their failed attempt to compete with Facebook, and their current professed love…

> Google used to run an open messaging service but shut it down as part of their failed attempt to compete with Facebook, and their current professed love of open RCS hasn’t extended to allowing anyone else to use their implementation.

It's funny to read this criticism, when comments in another thread are criticizing Google for running an RCS implementation as a service for carriers.

RCS is an open standard, and Google does let others use it. However, other carriers didn't adopt it themselves, so Google set up a service that carriers can use and is running it themselves to ensure compatibility. There is no API for Android apps to use, yes, and that is a problem they should fix, but it's not exactly a self-serving decision, especially because it hampers Google's own products as well. The reason for the lack of the app API is likely because RCS hasn't been widely adopted enough to warrant it.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#554

Post by ThatPlayer »

TerrifiedMouse wrote: post #444
ThatPlayer wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If iMessage gets declared a gatekeeper, RCS wouldn't be enough. Not all iMessage users can send/receive RCS or SMS.

> Not all iMessage users can send/receive RCS or SMS. What do you mean? If Apple includes RCS like they did SMS then it would operate as follows: Is target an iPhone with iMessage enabled? Yes? Use iMessage. No? Fallback to RCS. RCS doesn’t work? Fallback to SMS.

iPads can do iMessage. iPhones with no phone plan can do iMessage. iPod Touches, used to be the cheap messaging devices for kids before phone plans became more widespread. Macbooks. Those cannot send or recieve SMS/RCS.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#555

Post by chimeracoder »

zanderwohl wrote: post #550
kmeisthax wrote: post #501

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I see all arguments to force Apple to open up iMessage as punishing them for building a platform that people want that the majority of the US has bought into. I see all arguments that Apple shouldn't be forced to open up iMessage (or implement RCS) as forcing me to have a worse phone experience because I didn't buy an iPhone from the company that said "if you want to sideload apps, buy an Android". "Just use a third…

> I sure as hell would never beg them to migrate to Whatsapp of all things. In many places, most people wouldn't. But Europeans (and some others) seem eager to BCC all their texts to Mark Zuckerberg for some reason.

> In many places, most people wouldn't. But Europeans (and some others) seem eager to BCC all their texts to Mark Zuckerberg for some reason.

There is zero evidence that Facebook is engaging in passive mass surveillance of WhatsApp messages.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#556

Post by chimeracoder »

JohnFen wrote: post #282
commoner wrote: post #80

Excellent. The next step is for Google to release a free and open source way for Android developers to build apps that send RCS messages. Currently, the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS is Messages by Google, which is closed source and requires Google Play Services to activate RCS features. Also, end-to-end encryption is not part of the RCS specification, but is a proprietary extension to RCS tha…

> the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS is Messages by Google Plus, unless they fixed it, if you enable RCS and then regret it and disable it again, anybody who texted with you via RCS will no longer be able to text you at all. Things won't revert to SMS. This bit me pretty hard, but I finally fixed it by changing my phone number.

> Plus, unless they fixed it, if you enable RCS and then regret it and disable it again, anybody who texted with you via RCS will no longer be able to text you at all. Things won't revert to SMS.

That same "bug" existed for years with iMessage, for anyone switching from an iPhone to a non-iPhone.

It still exists in some form, albeit less severely, because Apple finally implemented a timeout and a way to manually deregister a number, but it took years.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#557

Post by kccqzy »

amadeuspagel wrote: post #487
danielbln wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So weird reading this from the transatlantic sidelines, where noone cares one little bit what device a message was sent from.

Because everyone uses WhatsApp, because Apple did not reach enough market share early enough to push iMessage. That's lucky, I don't think europeans would be less susceptible to this kind of psychological manipulation.

To be frank, a lot of my WhatsApp-using friends were very upset that it was bought by Facebook. Fortunately they generally transitioned to Signal or Telegram, not iMessage due to significant Android market share.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#559

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

kaba0 wrote: post #543
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is why I don't buy Google's bad faith shaming of Apple for not adopting RCS. But the point to me is that I don't care whether it's "bad faith" or not, just that (again, to me) it's actually the correct point of view. Messaging integration between iOS and Android, in the US at least, is not just fundamentally broken, but the presence of a single Android user in an iMessage group chat can break the experience fo…

> but the presence of a single Android user in an iMessage group chat can break the experience for everyone It is still such a laughable issue from the POV of any other country.. SMS is there for text-only, it’s a legacy tech that didn’t ever get popular in different places due to it having shit support for non-ascii letters (writing a single ü would almost halve the remaining chars I can write), and not having unlim…

> It’s a made-up issue.

My biggest pet peeve is when people have an issue that doesn't affect them so they need to declare it as "fake". Just because you don't feel the problem doesn't mean "it's a made up issue".

The following are simply facts:

1. In the US, among iPhone users, iMessage is by far the dominant messaging service.

2. Among certain socioeconomic groups in the US, iPhone is by far the dominant mobile phone. I have been in several friend groups where there was at most 1 other Android user.

3. In group chats, not only does the limited functionality for Android users make it harder to converse, but the presence of a single Android user can break the experience for everyone (I've had messages randomly not show up, abysmal video quality, etc.)

So while I would absolutely love it if other people would switch to Telegram or WhatsApp or whatever, you try telling a group of 10 people "Hey, can you all switch the messaging app you are familiar with and use all the time so I don't feel left out?" If you think that's viable you just don't understand human nature.

The other option is for Apple to simply make an Android version of iMessage (like all the other messaging apps you mentioned), but they don't seem too keen on that.

Re: Apple announces that RCS support is coming to iPhone next year

#560

Post by wtallis »

flashback2199 wrote: post #434
commoner wrote: post #80

Excellent. The next step is for Google to release a free and open source way for Android developers to build apps that send RCS messages. Currently, the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS is Messages by Google, which is closed source and requires Google Play Services to activate RCS features. Also, end-to-end encryption is not part of the RCS specification, but is a proprietary extension to RCS tha…

> the only messaging app on Android that fully supports RCS is Messages by Google Why would you want to use another messaging app? Your data is more safe with some randos than Google?

Ironically but unsurprisingly, Google Voice doesn't even support RCS.
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