Google is revisiting the “Get The Message” publicity campaign began final yr to strain Apple into adopting the Wealthy Communication Companies, or RCS, messaging protocol. The newest installment contains new content material and a cheesy video promoting a faux “iPager” gadget — a jab at Apple for changing iMessages texted to Android gadgets into old style SMS and MMS.
“iPager isn’t actual, however the issues that Apple causes through the use of SMS are,” mentioned Google within the video description on YouTube. “Let’s make texting higher for everybody and assist Apple #GetTheMessage and improve to RCS.”
RCS presents a number of enhancements to messaging, together with end-to-end encryption, learn receipts, and the flexibility to share high-resolution images and movies. iMessage presents related options however just for messages despatched between different iMessage customers, leading to Android customers being seen as green message bubble nuisances in group messages — an actual situation in international locations just like the US the place greater than half the inhabitants is utilizing an iPhone.
Carriers and telephone producers like Samsung have already adopted RCS expertise, however Apple’s dedication to its personal iMessage normal has drawn Google’s ire for a while. In January final yr, Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer criticized Apple for “holding back the user experience” for purchasers. Apple hasn’t budged its stance regardless of Google’s lighthearted bullying — final yr on the Code Convention, Tim {Cook} mentioned anybody pissed off by their inexperienced message bubbles ought to just buy an iPhone.
Court docket paperwork from Apple’s legal dispute with Epic Games in 2021 revealed that the iPhone maker sees its iMessage platform as a key service for locking clients into its ecosystem and that it believes transferring iMessage to Android would “damage us greater than assist.” So offering Android customers with an iMessage-like expertise by adopting RCS is presumably low on Apple’s priorities.