Final evening, Tim Prepare dinner shot down the potential of fixing the inexperienced bubble downside — and he revealed the true motive why Apple received’t do it: it doesn’t promote iPhones.
At Vox Media’s Code convention, an attendee instructed Prepare dinner that it was troublesome for him to ship movies to his mother as a result of Apple gadgets don’t assist RCS, the texting protocol championed by Google and supported by main cellphone carriers. Prepare dinner, in response, urged the attendee purchase his mother an iPhone. “I don’t hear our customers asking that we put a number of vitality in on that at this level,” Prepare dinner stated.
This appears to be the primary time Prepare dinner has publicly addressed RCS, the Wealthy Communications Companies protocol. RCS is a significant enchancment over SMS and MMS, letting you do issues like ship higher-quality images and movies, and it might repair lots of the points you run into when texting between Apple and Android gadgets. However Apple has thus far avoided providing assist, and the excellence between iMessage’s blue bubbles and common textual content message’s inexperienced ones has remained a thorn in Google’s facet.
Apple has intentionally chosen to make a superior texting expertise through iMessage an Apple-only factor — and Prepare dinner’s feedback on Wednesday converse to that selection. For years, it’s been a key a part of Apple’s technique to lock in customers to its platforms. Emails revealed as a part of Epic Video games v. Apple confirmed high execs like Craig Federighi (in 2013) and Phil Schiller (in 2016) making the case that bringing iMessage to Android wouldn’t profit Apple. Eddy Cue testified in a deposition that Apple might have made an Android model of iMessage that was appropriate with iOS, however that clearly hasn’t been publicly launched.
By making iMessage an Apple-only product — and by persevering with to enhance it with options like the flexibility to edit and unsend messages — Apple could make the case that the easiest way to message your pals is on an Apple machine utilizing Apple’s messaging app. Whereas the corporate might theoretically undertake RCS and preserve iMessage on Apple gadgets, it advantages by creating as a lot separation as potential between textual content messaging throughout Apple and Android. Meaning extra folks will purchase extra iPhones.
Google has been campaigning laborious in current months for Apple to undertake RCS. Google has applied it in Android, after all, and it’s additionally now supported by AT&T, T-Cellular, and Verizon (after a really sluggish rollout). And given that each one three have dedicated to creating Google’s Android messaging app the default texting for Android telephones they promote, it’s more likely that individuals will simply textual content over RCS with out serious about it.
Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer has led the cost, joking that there’s a “Actually Clear Resolution” to messaging struggles and saying that Apple is “holding again” prospects who textual content. The corporate additionally lately launched an internet site, “Get The Message,” to strive shaming Apple into adopting RCS.
Lockheimer understands Apple’s resistance to RCS, “however folks ought to be capable to ship top quality movies and images to their mother with out having to purchase her a brand new cellphone,” he said. Prepare dinner, it appears, disagrees.