- cross-posted to:
- signal@lemmy.ml
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I have faith in Apple, it’ll be difficult but they’ll find a way to do this that still maintains all the toxicity towards green bubbles that they’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
They are literally keeping the green bubbles for RCS users lmao
Right, but the features will be mostly on-par with iMessage. The only thing you’d be missing out on are chat effects and the 3D avatar things. The stigma will stay for a little bit, but probably die out over time because the stigma developed in the first place not due to the color of the bubble, but because the color of the bubble meant worse features.
Exactly, some of my iPhone-using friends don’t care about the color itself, just that sending a video via MMS results in a 240p mess. Being able to properly RCS videos, and multiple photos, will alleviate all actual concerns. They don’t care about message reactions, and I don’t know a single person who uses the avatar things (I’m in my early 30s in NY)
RCS supports message reactions, just not the crazy iMessage effects.
Yep
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It’s going to be irrelevant. It will still be separate from iMessage. Different bubbles will still exist. People who aren’t using SMS now (Europe) will continue to not use RCS either. And Apple’s implementation of RCS will be independent from Goggle’s and not 100% compatible.
In fact I suspect the whole thing is an attempt to skirt the upcoming EU interconnection regulations. Apple thinks that if they say “look we’ve implemented RCS and it’s technically interoperable with other RCS implementations” they’ll get a pass — or be able to assign blame on other vendors for not interconnecting with them and drag the whole thing for a few more years.
Glad that you emphasized Europe. Here in the states where iMessage is dominant, it’ll make a difference.
At the end of the day it’s not a bad thing. I’m also waiting for details with compatibility to be ironed out, but it’s a start.
Just surprised at the whole negative energy with this announcement considering this was a “when pigs fly” or “when hell freezes over” sorta thing. Again, it’s a start and hopefully Google opens it up (even if forcibly by the EU) down the road.
I’m just extremely skeptical of anything that looks too good to be true coming from any of the incumbent tech giants. Call me cynical.
I care. Switched to iPhone and RCS is the one thing I miss.
Exactly. It’s in no way a bad thing for anyone. We’ll see the way that it’s implemented. It’s the first step. r/Android is rearing its head here. Let’s enjoy this for the moment
People who aren’t using SMS now (Europe) will continue to not use RCS either.
We’re all already on RCS in Europe. And you know what? Nobody cares. Or truly knows. Nobody opens their Messages, iMessage, whateveritbemessage.
I didn’t know we were on RCS which proves the point I guess. I do open my texts though.
Maybe for 2FA. But for messaging with friends and colleagues? Everyone uses Signal, Whatsapp or telegram.
We aren’t on RCS. The only SMS app that even uses Google’s RCS is Google’s Messages. Assuming you had that app preinstalled (which isn’t necessarily true for all manufacturers or all models), it comes off by default and you have to enable it (it’s called “chat features”).
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This would be great if I could actually use it in AOSP without Google’s own app, and view/reply to RCS conversations on my laptop using a 3rd party application. Open the APIs, Google, or you’re just blowing hot air.
+1 And why XMPP was always a better answer.
Yeah, I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, but I’m tending towards some forced adherence to standards. Or at least interoperability through open federation.
The standard RCS lacks e2e encryption. You wouldn’t have been able to use other clients with the google messages app either way even if they were developed.
That’s why we need them to open up the APIs in the short term, but the long term goal should be to get the Universal Profile advanced, and move away from a Google-centric implementation.
Which, to be fair, Google really did seem to want carriers implementing their own interoperable RCS solutions. But they needed shit to be done, so they ended up doing it themselves.
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Google uses the Signal protocol for encryption and they do intend to allow for interoperability:
https://9to5google.com/2023/07/19/google-messages-mls-encrypted/
This is not something Google was ever against doing
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I have no doubts it will be implemented in a way that still benefits Apple and its ecosystem. Also to help their cause to keep iMessage locked into Apple devices with that EU ruling. Still, this is great news.
I don’t think Apple will need (or want) to do anything “malicious” since Apple is implementing RCS the standard which between the carriers and Google mismanaging and fragmenting messaging for years - see: X carrier phones can only send RCS messages to X carrier phones, Google’s implementation is not the RCS standard and is partially proprietary - it’ll take a while to get S.S. RCS, The Standard steered right.
I hope Apple’s involvement is ironically a kick in the butt to get everyone on the same page and get a standard rather than the current “Google iMessage” solution.
Edit: Typo
Are there any FOSS RCS apps? Should this be the ‘open’ standard the EU are enforcing?
There aren’t any because there’s no point. And no, I hope this won’t be the standard.
There are two things called “RCS”: there’s a theoretical specification; and exactly one implementation that has managed to get any real traction, and that’s purely because it’s pushed by Google.
The RCS spec was attempted by various companies and all implementations died when they figured out they’d have to make them compatible and open their servers to each other. Even if they wanted to it would be a mess.
SMS succeeded because it doesn’t need servers, it’s just pieces of text being sent around.
Google is the only one still pushing their RCS because they figure if they tie their version of it into Android they will own the messaging on Android forever. They don’t want interoperability either.
If Google gets their way and their RCS becomes the EU standard it will lock the EU into a proprietary platform from one of the most vile data predators in the world.
There’s no point in making a FOSS implementation of RCS because the spec is highly dependent on who runs the servers. The only way it would make sense is if the EU would dictate a spec and force everybody to follow it and open their servers. In that take on things FOSS would be ideal.
Is the Google version of RCS not compatible with someone else’s RCS, then?
As in, I take it nobody else wants to run a server because it costs money, right? But suppose I did, and I had an RCS app to run with it. Would someone using my app be able to send a message to an Android user using Google Messages?
No. Google Messages only talks to Google’s servers.
The way it’s supposed to work is Google has some servers and an app, and you have your own servers and own app, and when someone sends a message from your app it goes your app > your server > Google server > Google app. And the same in reverse.
But in reality Google doesn’t let anybody’s servers talk to theirs and tries to make everybody use their app and their servers. Which they can afford to do because they own Android and can shove their app down anybody’s throat.
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SMS only transits the telco infrastructure, it doesn’t need servers in the client-servers sense, RCS does. Not only that but RCS needs them because it includes hosting for things like images and videos that are sent in messages.
I don’t think Google will allow anybody to partake in “their” RCS, the least of all custom ROMS. They will make it another thing like SafetyNet, designed to maintain their own control.
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would much prefer matrix as the standard
If they did, it wouldn’t work on Android. There’s no user-level API. So only apps that come bundled with the phone can use the API.
Someone pinch me?
Now we wait another 10 years for Apple to support third-party RCS apps I guess?
What is rcs?
RCS is like sms2.0, it supports better group chats, larger higher quality file transfers, read receipts… That sorta thing
For carriers it is a way to extend the (in my opinion outdated) idea of carrier-based chat system.
For Google it is a way to switch messaging on Android to their proprietary app, at least for some time, as other of their projects falied.
For users it is a way for people using Android certified by Google to normally message people using iPhone and it’s preinstalled chat app.
Google got jealous of iMessage and remade iMessage, but Android with the promise of making it more open.
They haven’t followed through on ‘more open’ until just now.
Rcs officially works on 2 apps. iMessage still has just 1.
But hopefully Rcs will actually become open in the future. Allowing anyone to make an Rcs app, like they can with SMS
That doesn’t answer my question at all.
It’s a protocol that implements modern text messaging features for sms, similar to imessage on ios. Since nobody has used sms since the nineties it’s probably useless for most of us but it’s interesting to see what tech giants fight about.
Believe it or not, millions if not hundreds of millions use SMS every day.
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RCS is open protocol, but has no open implementation and Android has no native support (only by Google Messages app that act as a bridge to Google Jibe RCS servers).
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It’s more likely Google has paid them.
There would have to be a court case and ruling before Apple could be threatened with a fine. For messaging this isn’t the case (so far). Apple doesn’t restrict access to messaging apps. You can install iMessage competitors.
The RCS apple is implementing is Google’s standard. That they control and have restricted access to. So far only Google, Samsung and Apple have been allowed to use it.
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Google probably isn’t paying enough.
Long overdue, but this will be a benefit for all.
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I bet they do some thing like make it optional on the iPhone and the user needs to turn that setting on to get RCS. Obviously most users don’t care and will never look. 
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That sucks. I was hoping for a open standard that wasn’t dependent on Google
