Google on the collision course to compete with the likes of WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and iMessage. For the search engine to launch a chat app is a good move, the more the merrier and it gives consumers more options.
The tech giant is currently testing end-to-end encryption for RCS-based group chats on its Messages app — RCS stands for Rich Communication Services. Google plans to rollout the feature to selected users as part of open beta program.
“Today, all of the major mobile carriers and manufacturers have adopted RCS as the standard – except for Apple. Apple refuses to adopt RCS and continues to rely on SMS when people with iPhones message people with Android phones, which means their texting is stuck in the 1990s,” Neena Budhiraja, group product manager for the Messages app, said in a blog post.
“Hopefully, Apple can #GetTheMessage so we don’t have to keep waiting to remove the whole ‘green-versus-blue bubble’ thing. Happy birthday, SMS – you were a great start, and you had a good run, but everyone is ready for an upgrade.”
According to TechCrunch, Google has been pushing manufacturers and carriers to adopt RCS — a hypercharged version of SMS with features like typing indicators, delivery and read receipts. It also has been running campaigns to convince Apple to adopt this standard for its own Messages app.
RCS doesn’t only make texting more secure — it makes the experience better, too. SMS texting lacks a lot of what smartphones are capable of doing, but RCS means you can send and receive high-quality photos and videos, see real-time typing indicators and read receipts, name group conversations, add or remove contacts from group chats, and text over Wi-Fi…this list goes on. Soon, Messages will let you react to RCS messages with any emoji, so that you can share exactly the right one, read the company’s blog post
