Not Just the iPhone: Google Needs to Push RCS Texting Even Further

RCS texting is on its way to the iPhone. However Apple’s telephones don’t seem to be the one ones that also lack get entry to to the extra trendy texting usual. 

Google, which has invested significantly in build up RCS whilst touting guarantees of ways it will deliver typing signs and higher-quality crew chats, spent years pushing for Apple to adopt the messaging usual. It even built features into Google Messages like beef up for message reactions, in an try to make texting iPhone customers rather less terrible. In the end, via overdue 2023, Apple introduced RCS support would be coming to iOS in 2024, bringing hope that improved texting between Android and iOS, whole with typing signs and top quality media, may just in reality occur.

But when RCS is in reality intended to switch the antiquated SMS and MMS texting that the majority telephones were caught with for many years, it must arrive on all telephones. Now not simply Android telephones, and no longer simply Apple’s iPhone.

That incorporates fundamental telephones, like turn telephones and different minimalistic feature phones one would possibly flip to for a “virtual detox.” That still manner apps and services and products that depend on SMS to textual content a telephone quantity, a few of which Google itself makes, will wish to undertake RCS. 

There is additionally a global of other Android texting apps that have not but been given get entry to to RCS texting. 

It quantities to a large number of gadgets, services and products and apps which can be nonetheless the use of SMS. However RCS in reality must be to be had throughout all cell phones and texting apps, no longer simply the iPhone, ahead of we go away outdated requirements like SMS and MMS at the back of for excellent. 

Fundamental turn telephones may just nonetheless use higher texting

Fundamental telephones are having their very own more or less second presently, leading to unfashionable turn telephones and candybar-style telephones that experience extra options than ever. HMD specifically has spent the previous couple of years proceeding the Nokia telephone line via growing fundamental telephones that run on KaiOS, whilst additionally creating branded telephones with corporations just like the not too long ago printed Heineken Boring Phone and an upcoming Barbie flip phone. The corporate’s observed sufficient luck with those gadgets that the analytics company International Data Corporation reported that HMD held the lion’s percentage of the characteristic telephone marketplace (30.7% via worth and 22.4% via quantity) within the 0.33 quarter of 2023.

A few of these HMD-developed telephones even beef up a restricted selection of internet apps and services and products, like Google Maps and in some instances WhatsApp. For example, my colleague Jessica Fierro not too long ago spent every week with the Nokia 2780, throughout which she was once ready to make use of it to look at YouTube, get Google Maps instructions and use the internet browser for many different services and products. But if it got here to texting, the Nokia 2780 was once restricted to only SMS and MMS.

Despite the fact that fundamental telephones hardly crack the bestselling telephone lists that continuously characteristic smartphones made via Apple and Samsung, those gadgets obviously have an target audience who may just get pleasure from getting access to a extra trendy texting usual. Whilst fundamental telephones themselves are prone to keep restricted to T9 texting on account of their numerical keypads, the enhanced crew chat beef up and typing signs that RCS brings is usually a large potency spice up for somebody simply seeking to faucet out a brief textual content.

On-line services and products are nonetheless caught on SMS

Services and products that offer digital telephone numbers were round for a very long time, and they’re a handy manner of the use of every other telephone quantity with no need to buy a brand new line from a provider. They supply options like forwarding calls to some other telephone quantity you want to, enhanced voicemail beef up and SMS texting. However that latter level is now a part of the impediment this is combating RCS from supplanting SMS and MMS.

I in my opinion were a long-time consumer of Google Voice, because it supplies a vast voicemail field for my calls whilst additionally offering another telephone quantity to make use of for any explanation why I would like. I additionally use Zoom Phone as my paintings telephone quantity, which shall we me take calls both from my computer or from any telephone I occur to be reviewing at the present time.

Each services and products are compatible my wishes smartly… excluding for messaging. It is irritating that those equipment are nonetheless caught the use of SMS and MMS. That is particularly the case with Google Voice, since Google has been main the RCS push with its Google Messages app. I’m hoping those and an identical services and products can quickly get get entry to to RCS, and expectantly get a greater texting enjoy that can lead them to more straightforward to make use of.

Android texting apps in large part would not have RCS both

Despite the fact that Android has up to now been the principle telephone running device offering RCS texting, that doesn’t essentially prolong to third-party texting apps. One of the crucial perks of Android is the extent of customization it supplies. You’ll be able to switch the launcher if you wish to have higher house display controls, or arrange a third-party app retailer if you wish to have get entry to to a carrier that isn’t natively equipped via the Google Play Retailer.

For example, ahead of Google Messages added desktop beef up over a internet browser, my Android texting app of selection was once Pulse SMS. It supplies wide get entry to to 1’s texting app, whether or not it is on a telephone or over local apps for Mac and Home windows, together with internet browser beef up. However Pulse SMS does not currently have RCS support, mentioning that Google has no longer but equipped some way for builders to combine with it.

Taking into account Android’s openness, it is extraordinary that RCS integration is not but to be had to third-party builders. Google does, on the other hand, paintings with different telephone producers when integrating with RCS. For example, the Samsung Messages app that is nonetheless incorporated as a texting possibility on Galaxy telephones comprises beef up for RCS. 

Beeper, in the interim, helps RCS in its third-party texting app, which relaunched on Android following its attempts to integrate with Apple’s iMessage network. However Beeper needed to reverse-engineer its manner into integrating with Google Messages so as to make that occur. For now, apparently that Google is not going after Beeper for this in the similar manner that Apple did when shutting off its iMessage integration.

It is transparent that RCS nonetheless has a protracted approach to move ahead of it in reality replaces SMS and MMS texting. We will get our first have a look at how interoperable RCS texting in reality is when Apple’s iPhone begins supporting the usual to percentage high-resolution picture and video as the company said last year, in addition to extra dependable crew messaging, learn receipts and placement sharing. Different options like encryption might be depending on Apple’s paintings with the GSMA to give a boost to the RCS usual itself, since Apple noted in its RCS announcement last year that the corporate is not going to use every other corporate’s encryption protocol — perhaps relating to the only Google Messages makes use of.

In all probability since Apple is now operating with the remainder of the GSMA on the usual, RCS will give a boost to and are available to further telephones and services and products. It may well be very similar to what we are now seeing with the Qi2 wireless charging standard, which incorporates one of the enhancements that Apple advanced with its MagSafe charging. But till we see RCS turn into in reality to be had throughout all gadgets and services and products, SMS and MMS will stay a dominant, but antiquated, messaging usual.