Google has been making an attempt to publicly stress Apple into adopting the GSMA’s RCS (Wealthy Communications Service) messaging protocol for a very long time now, with nothing to point out for it. As a matter of reality, Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner appeared to fully dismiss the thought when by saying that buyers can buy their mothers an iPhone. Google and its Android platform aren’t giving up that simply they usually’ve to proceed criticizing Apple’s most popular messaging platform.
The advert’s referred to as “iPager” and mimics Apple’s advertising language to disclose a retro-styled beeper, indicating that Apple’s behind the curve with its chosen messaging platform. The spot states that the iPager makes use of “outdated messaging tech” to “textual content with Android,” citing lots of the perceived disadvantages of sticking with SMS know-how when speaking with Android telephones. Google didn’t invent this comparability whole-cloth, because the 30-year-old SMS tech truly
Apple’s continued use of SMS messaging does hobble Android integration in just a few methods, however the reverse can also be true. Most famously, there’s the dreaded inexperienced bubble when texting an Android person from an iPhone. There are some feature-breaking bugs inherent to group chats between iOS and Android customers and pictures despatched from Android telephones to iPhones are typically relatively pixelated. That is yet one more aspect impact of these interoperability points.
One-on-one RCS messages have been end-to-end encrypted since 2021, with group chats following go well with simply final month. iMessage texts have lengthy been encrypted too, however solely from iPhone to iPhone. Google’s newest advert shines an (admittedly slanted) gentle on the vulnerability shoppers face when texting throughout working methods, as these SMS texts aren’t encrypted. Moreover, RCS textual content messages lose encryption when making the leap to iOS gadgets. It is anybody’s guess why Apple ought to make this variation and never Google, regardless of RCS being a extra globally adopted normal.
This advert’s unlikely to persuade Apple to alter something, because it’s solely the newest salvo in Google’s snark marketing campaign. Again in 2022, to pile on Apple and there have been loads of different minor jabs at Cupertino’s expense at occasions like I/O 2022 Everyone knows Apple is notoriously cussed on the subject of adopting non-proprietary know-how, particularly if it views the change as pointless. Irrespective of who’s responsible, these interoperability points are annoying for shoppers and unhealthy for knowledge privateness. Possibly an antitrust case will get this sorted someday.