Android lead Hiroshi Lockheimer says Apple is “holding back” the messaging experience for not just Android but its own users by not supporting RCS in iMessage
Lockheimer’s criticism became the opening phase of a longer pressure campaign: Google later launched Get The Message to spotlight the limits of SMS/MMS, before Apple announced RCS support for Messages in iOS 18.
First-order effects
Apple becomes the direct target of Google’s interoperability push, while Android-to-iPhone conversations remain outside the RCS experience described in the coverage.
Android users and iMessage users continue to rely on SMS/MMS for their cross-platform exchanges rather than the RCS defaults carriers were adopting for Android Messages.
Second-order effects
Google turns a product-protocol dispute into sustained consumer-facing pressure through its Get The Message campaign, raising the reputational cost of Apple maintaining the split.
Carrier adoption and Android Messages’ reported 500M-plus monthly active users give Google a broader installed-base argument for treating RCS as the cross-platform baseline.
Third-order effects
Apple’s subsequent iOS 18 commitment to replace SMS with RCS for Android exchanges moves messaging interoperability from a platform dispute toward a shared-protocol requirement.
The later RCS standard’s interoperable end-to-end encryption support points to security features becoming part of the cross-platform baseline, rather than a capability confined to one messaging ecosystem.
The trend: Consumer messaging is moving from platform-specific fallbacks toward shared protocols, with feature and security parity becoming the pressure point.
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.
We're not asking Apple to make iMessage available on Android. We're asking Apple to support the industry standard for modern messaging (RCS) in iMessage, just as they support the older SMS / MMS standards.
iMessage should not benefit from bullying. Texting should bring us together, and the solution exists. Let's fix this as one industry. 💚💙 https://twitter.com/...
Large portion of the US tech media reporting on the blue/green chat bubble ‘bullying’ non-story and the RCS drama seems to have forgotten that WhatsApp is the preferred messaging platform in the rest of the world. iMessage/SMS usage doesn't even come close.
There are a lot of people pointing out Google's history of messaging apps, but I disagree strongly with that response. Apple's refusal to cooperate on interoperable rich messaging is a detriment to consumers and Android is right to call them out for it. https://twitter.com/...
@BenBajarin ... It was all green originally. They added blue as a way to visually distinguish SMS from iMessage because fees could apply per SMS, and they were unencrypted vs. E2EE. Falling out of encryption because someone changed phones was something they considered important t…
@BenBajarin ... I think those are less important than just improving the messaging experience. Reactions probably wouldn't go through, and iMessage would still have things like games and stickers and apps that RCS wouldn't support. It just brings the basics of modern messaging.
Everyone is rightfully dunking on Google for having launched 20 messaging apps that all failed for various reasons. But now, for once, it's actually taking the *right* approach: not a new messaging app, but asking all phone number-based messaging apps to be based on a standard.
This is an important point a lot of people are missing. Things have boiled down to “bring iMessage support to Android” — but that really isn't a good solution. The solution is for Apple to support RCS, an actual messaging standard. https://twitter.com/...
Messages, Chat, Allo, Duo, Spaces, Talk, Hangouts, Meet. So...I'm trying to wrap my head about complaints from this team about splitting the ecosystem or unified standards. https://twitter.com/...
It isn't any more likely to happen, honestly. But it's what we actually want/need. Bringing iMessage support to Android just creates yet another non-standard platform problem. Kicks the can down the road.
Google complaining that Apple is using its market power to ship a proprietary product instead of using an industry standard? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@MaxWinebach ... IF Apple supported RCS, which I agree is the way not iMessage on Android, would bubbles still be green? Would people see message reactions? What would still be unique to iMessage for Apple users, etc. It would be interesting to list what features would co-exist v…
apple does have preferential treatment for its own apps in many places, the app store fees are hard to justify (and probably unsustainable), and apple does press its thumbs on the scale for its services very aggressively. all not good.
In other countries, SMS and MMS cost money per message sent. That's why apps like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger blew up. In the US, it has been free for those so there was never a need for us to use those services, because well, it was free. We aren't living in the past https:/…
Hiroshi has an important point (thread above): Apple supports SMS and MMS. RCS is simply the next evolution of SMS, backward-compatible with the original system. There's obviously no technical reason why Apple can't support RCS, it isn't an architectural change.
can't believe someone thought “apple encourages bullying of green bubbles” would be the message that'd somehow translate into some coherent anti-competitive argument...and coming from google where they must have PMs whose job is to confuse people with a new msg app every new yr h…
@JGfromOC @andrewmartonik This is the point I was trying to say all weekend. iMessage on Android is a *Bad* idea. RCS on iOS is a good one. It makes the experience for iOS users better while texting Android folk and barely changes the Android experience.
Indeed, if @Android adopted @signalapp as its default messaging standard, it is not unconceivable the hegemony of iMessage and WhatsApp would end overnight. I have ~10 messaging platform in my devices... this is absurd. https://twitter.com/...