Hiroshi Lockheimer, head of Android for Google, has left an “open invitation” for Apple. To integrate into iMessage lo standard RCS (Rich Communications Services), in order to use all the features of iMessage also on Android.
iMessage to the fullest even on Android with RCS
iMessage is now ten years old: it was launched in 2011 along with iOS 8, a reply to messages over-the-top like BlackBerry Messenger (for those who remember it) and WhatsApp. But full chat support so far remains prerogative of those who write from an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Anyone who joins a conversation from Android cannot see text with images, videos or GIFs. Instead, showing blank boxes or error messages.
The same thing recently happened to the golfer Bryson DeChambeau, the only one in the Ryder Cup group without an iPhone. He replied to his annoyed tweet Hiroshi Lockheimer by Google, saying there is a clear answer. A “Real Clear Solution”, whose acronym is RCS. Lockheimer also added green and blue hearts to represent the two different colors that chats have on iMessage, depending on whether you write with an iPhone or an Android smartphone.
Lockheimer’s claim is not new. Google is working with the group GSMA, with smartphone manufacturers and network operators to push the use of RCS, considered the successors of SMS. Messages that work on all non-Appe devices, support images and movies. And that Google has installed in the Android messaging app.
In the case of the recent WhatsApp blackout, users could not have sent the own GIFs annoying Apple users, or vice versa, using simple messages. Implementing this standard could provide “agnostic” messaging, without the use of third party apps. Now the metaphorical ball is in Apple’s court: we will update you if they respond and change course.