Rather than calling for iMessage support on Android, Google’s Senior Vice President says that he wants to see RCS operate on the iPhone
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal shed light on the mental health implications for teenagers of feeling isolated from their peers because of their preference for Android smartphones. Google Senior VP Hiroshi Lockheimer took to Twitter over the weekend to denounce Apple’s use of bullying and peer pressure to sell items.
Lockheimer retweeted his comments and clarifications on the matter following the weekend in which the SVP’s Tweet was widely discussed.
When it comes to making iMessage available on Android, Lockheimer stresses that Google isn’t asking Apple to make iMessage available, but rather for Apple to accept the “industry standard for modern communications (RCS) within iMessage, just as they support the older SMS/MMS standards.”
When all else fails, the Senior VP said, the phone number-based messaging platform will always work.
By not incorporating RCS, Apple is holding back the industry and holding back the user experience for not only Android users but also their own customers.
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) January 10, 2022
We’re happy to work with Apple to make RCS interop a reality.
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) January 10, 2022
RCS, the successor to SMS, provides read receipts, typing notifications, bigger file transfers, and end-to-end encryption, making it a more secure alternative to SMS. Apple knows that iMessage keeps users glued to its ecosystem, so providing a better experience for Android users while testing may not be as successful in keeping them on iPhone. Apple now has the initiative.
A lot of it comes down to the old green-versus-blue iMessage debate, which has been going on since the release of iMessage in iOS 5.
Maybe it’s a different story in other countries, where Apple phones are less common and people are more inclined to utilize app-based messaging services such as WhatsApp, Viber, or WeChat.
