Google welcomes Apple's move to adopt RCS
Apple has promised to adopt RCS in 2024, and Google welcomes the company's contribution despite not adopting its encrypted extension for the standard.
Google's iPager ad
The Rich Communications Services messaging standard will finally come to iPhone later in 2024, but Apple won't be using Google's end-to-end encrypted extension. Despite that, Google has shared a message of welcome for Apple.
Google shared a statement with AppleInsider:
"Everyone deserves to communicate with each other in ways that are modern and secure, no matter what phone they have. Thats why we have worked closely with the mobile industry to accelerate the adoption of RCS, and we're happy to see Apple take their first step today by coming on board to embrace RCS. We welcome Apple's participation in our ongoing work with GSMA to evolve RCS and make messaging more equitable and secure, and look forward to working with them to implement this on iOS in a way that works well for everyone."
Google has clearly won the battle after bashing Apple repeatedly for sticking to SMS as an alternative to iMessage. Now that Apple is working with the GSMA to enhance RCS, Google has everything to win.
Apple says it intends to work with the GSMA to add encryption to the RCS Universal Profile -- something Google hasn't been able to do in all its years sponsoring the standard. Instead, Google had to create an extension of RCS that only works with Google Messages to enable end-to-end encryption.
As Google said, Apple joining in the work on RCS will be a win for all users. Apple's involvement will likely be the lifeline the Google-backed standard needs, saving it from the ever-increasing Google graveyard.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
That said, I'm not entirely convinced that Google isn't interested since, if the carriers go with their RCS server/router technology (Jibe), that'll at least give them information about who's connected to who in the world with the knowledge of user/customer IDs and who is messaging who (even if they can't see the content of those messages). I'm fairly certain this is why Apple is pushing back on the E2EE side of things and working with GSMA.
1. Google actually had a GREAT messaging strategy in its pre-Android and early Android days (Google Chat - which included video - and Google Voice). Indeed, it even preceded Apple's efforts in this area. Problem: they trashed it to compete with Facebook, resulting in the Google Hangouts debacle.
2. After Google Hangouts failed, Google realized the need to compete with iMessage. So they created Allo (messages) and Duo (video). Allo failed and was yanked. Duo was very successful, but only outside the U.S. Google also created Meet to kinda sorta replace Hangouts for its enterprise Workspace customers.
3. With Duo and Meet video was "fine" but Google still needed a modern messaging protocol to replace the ancient insecure SMS/MMS. So Google chose RCS, which had originally been proposed years ago but failed because no one adopted it. It was never supposed to compete with iMessage. After the failure of Duo, Hangouts and Allo - plus Chat/Voice never reaching its potential - Google really did merely want a better messaging client.
So I don't get people who attribute nefarious intent on Google's part here. Was Google supposed to stick with a 1980s messaging protocol just to maintain Apple's advantage? Or is adopting rich text support, group chat support and end-to-end encryption somehow bad? You have some desire to punish people for choosing not to buy iPhones by forcing outdated insecure tech on them or something? Yes, Google maintains the servers but what choice did they have? The mobile carriers could have but refused. Google solved a real problem for their users that no one - the carriers, regulators, Apple - was going to lift a finger to. I don't see how this makes them the bad guy.
Apple isn't going to use Google's encryption? You know who is happy about that? Google. Google has been trying to get GSMA to adopt encryption for years. Whether Apple gets GSMA to adopt it or implements their own solution, it benefits Apple. So long as Apple handles the messages properly it doesn't matter. So no, it isn't some scheme to invade iPhone user's privacy. Google was already perfectly capable of doing that already with SMS/MMS and so was everybody else. That's why Apple's refusal to adopt RCS so long never made sense. To put it another way, it proves that Apple's alleged focus on privacy was just marketing. Apple knew that its consumers were communicating with Android device owners using very insecure SMS/MMS and didn't lift a finger.
This isn't necessarily a loss for Apple - the green and blue bubble thing will still exist - but it is definitely a win for Google and Android users. And there are absolutely no downsides either.
Just think about it: say I create some amazing new technology that allows people to instantly communicate with each other just by thinking. Now, as a technology creator, I'd like to just sell my product directly to people (or perhaps license it to companies who want to integrate it into their products) and be able to focus solely on making it better because that's what I'm good at. But a year down the road, Google has cloned my technology and is giving their clone version away for free since they're using the data they harvest from people's thoughts to increase the value of their advertising business (which is where they're making money). What do you think happens to my product and what I need to do with my company if I want to survive?
By cloning and owning technology products (like Java, H.264, and others), then giving them away for free, and not facing any repercussions for it, they've essentially forced technology creators to have to rethink their business strategy. Apple is lucky because they already have a strong foundation as a technology company, not to mention that Google needs the platforms they've built to acquire much of their data, but smaller tech companies (and even not so small ones like Sun Microsystems) really have to think about this happening to them. And most are forced to follow the same path as Google, like it or not.
So yes, I've thought about this much deeper than simple fanboyism. I know that's difficult to understand when the internet is filled with people who don't know anything about the industry and have turned it into the new "Ford vs Chevy" fight.
And so we get to the crux of your argument: that Google created RCS + encryption because they truly care about privacy for everyone (unlike Apple). If that's the case, then why are they using a proprietary, closed source technology for the encryption part? Thus locking out other phone manufacturers who use Linux or Android, but aren't GMS-certified. Why not make that part of the standard and open up the server-side technology for everyone to use if it's truly being done as a good will gesture?
No they haven't, and what a silly thing to claim.
Apple decided it's time to implement a new universal standard, not Google's version. Google won nothing. iMessage will remain Apple's proprietary messaging platform and Google's messaging will remain a mess. It's like SMS is going to receive a minor (very minor) upgrade, big deal. No E2EE, none of Google's proprietary extensions.
You may be completely unaware what led up to this, and why Google jumped in where GSMA wouldn't. This article will take you back to where it began and why:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/17/18681573/google-rcs-chat-android-texting-carriers-imessage-encryption
And the green bubble will continue to be a warning sign that your messages to Android users may or may not be secure, and may or may not collect data.