It’s all about the bubbles.

Samsung has released a new video in support of Google’s #GetTheMessage campaign which calls for Apple to adopt RCS or “Rich Communication Services,” the cross-platform protocol pitched as a successor to SMS that adopts many of the features found in modern messaging apps… like Apple’s own iMessage.

  • Porgey@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9213·
    9 months ago

    While Apple should adopt RCS, I cannot help but feel that Google is being extremely hypocritical. They complain about iMessage being proprietary, but their implementation of RCS isn’t open source, and I believe they even mentioned they have no plans to open it up for 3rd party devs to implement it into their own sms apps. This just feels like an iMessage equivalent for Android. It has rich features that are exclusive to Android as a platform (more specifically exclusive to Google Messages or whatever the app is called now)… just like iMessage within iOS/MacOS/iPadOS…

      • Porgey@lemmy.worldEnglish
        151·
        9 months ago

        Okay but their implementation is what they are touting. The standard RCS protocol is only marginally better than sms. Google constantly uses encryption in their ad campaigns for RCS, which is exclusive to to googles implementation. There is no way anyone is going to get Apple to work on an implementation that interoperates with Google

        • ubermeisters@lemmy.worldEnglish
          222·
          9 months ago

          Believe it or not you might need to pay for something that you like and use. Wierd fuckin notion I know.

          Until free speech covers equal rights to emoji msg replies (etc), I really don’t see any way to force companies to make the playing field level for people who aren’t their customers.

          • Emerald@lemmy.worldEnglish
            161·
            9 months ago

            Believe it or not you might need to pay for something that you like and use. Wierd fuckin notion I know.

            You are confusing open source with free-as-in-price. Open source is a development philosophy, not a price tag.

            • ubermeisters@lemmy.worldEnglish
              214·
              9 months ago

              I’m not confusing it, I’m just used to them being paired. Ya know… FOSS… as are others.

              • TheRealKuni@lemmy.worldEnglish
                6·
                9 months ago

                The “Free” in “Free and Open Source Software” is, famously, “free as in speech, not free as in beer.”

                • ubermeisters@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  1·
                  9 months ago

                  Well then I admit to being wrong. All the FOSS software I use was free as in no payment required. So… idk

    • Prethoryn Overmind@lemmy.worldEnglish
      331·
      9 months ago

      Yeah, the only issue is that RCS is actually better and the counter argument is that Apple is breaking the messaging platform by not implementing it in some way.

      The other point to make here is that iMessage wouldn’t have to just disappear. They could continue to support iMessage while just allowing text messages to be better for those who just don’t want an iPhone. The whole thing is hypocritical on both sides. Apple has convinced it’s users, very successfully might I add, that it is an Android problem and instead of having choice over your phone, you should just buy an iPhone.

      As someone who works in IT this is really not the answer users should get. To me, this is equivalent to, “your computer quit working? Just buy a new one.” But imagine you only had one choice and it’s because that company refuses to just improve standard text messaging for all users across the board but iPhone users don’t understand that Google has a method to fix this problem Apple just refuses to make it a better experience for everyone.

      Additionally, I think RCS is an open platform. Google’s fork of it carries encryption and group messaging integration. Point being Google genuinely has a viable iMessage solution to non iMessage texts. Apple wouldn’t even have to stop using iMesaage.

      • Porgey@lemmy.worldEnglish
        83·
        9 months ago

        While I agree, Apple is being obnoxiously stubborn and it truly only does benefit Apple users as well, it just feels disingenuous from Google. It more feels like they want to get their product onto Apple devices. If Apple could implement RCS the way they wanted to and interoperate with Google, then I think it would be a more valid argument (and I suppose they can, but Apple would be caught dead investing money into something like that). But Google clearly wants Apple to use their own version and is putting up this annoying ad campaign to mask it. (As far as I know, the standard RCS implementation doesn’t even include E2EE, rather it’s something unique to googles implementation, correct me if I’m wrong). Google uses encryption as a talking point in their ad campaigns and is honestly for me the biggest reason for it to be used in iOS. Otherwise the experience is only marginally better than sms, and I wouldn’t expect Apple to even bother with it. At least with encryption one can challenge Apple‘s stance on being a privacy focused company…

        Im also a software engineer and it’s annoying as hell that Apple is stubborn, but from a business perspective, it’s a gold mine for Apple - ecosystem lock-in is just too valuable to them as a company.

        • Natanael@slrpnk.netEnglish
          3·
          9 months ago

          Google’s encryption extension is published so anybody could implement it (if you already have enough access to create your own client, like Samsung)

      • Porgey@lemmy.worldEnglish
        81·
        9 months ago

        I do, but if you pay attention to the ad-campaign, Google is touting features such as E2EE as a benefit to bringing it to iOS, which is NOT part of the rcs protocol, rather part of googles implementation.

        The RCS protocol by itself is only marginally better than SMS.