Google is practically begging Apple to adopt RCS, but still isn't all-in itself

2»

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 27
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,116member
    tehabe said:
    mjtomlin said:
    tehabe said:
    Of course it is a standard, it has been a standard since it first appeared, even before iMessage was a thing. RCS is just the successor of MMS and SMS, not supporting it is a mistake. Also RCS could be the way to create interoperability between messengers. But Apple was never really good in accepting outside feedback.

    Yes, but Google's version is not a standard version of RCS, it is an extension of RCS. Which is what they're pushing Apple to adopt.

    Google is the new Microsoft when it comes to standards; "Embrace, Extend, Exterminate"
    Source for that, Android Messages uses the RCS Universal Profile, if iOS would support this profile it would be able to sent and receive RCS messages, they would be like SMS and MMS messages, with the ability to also sent photos and other things. At the same time, Apple can remove the MMS support. The end to end encryption Google introduced is based on the Signal protocol, so also available for Apple to implement. The only reason Apple doesn't implement it is probably the same why it doesn't support Opus in an Ogg container or fixes the FLAC support for Music. And it is just a fact, iMessage is meaningless for me. I haven't received a single iMessage message so far.

    The RCS Universal Profile is a standard that was developed by the  GSMA Group with the help of Google. Google got involve because of their acquisition of Jibe Mobile. Jibe Mobile was helping the GSMA Group roll out a standard RCS to the carriers. The GSMA Group got involved after many years of the carriers trying to establish a standard RCS protocol that would work across all carriers network and failing to.



    >It is worthwhile to mention that Google is playing an important role because it bought Jibe – one of a few useful RCS clients, and has developed a universal Android client based on the GSMA RCS UP.<



    >In a move announced by the GSMA this week, Google and the GSMA are working together for a text message makeover.<

    Google did not just adopt the GSMA Group RCS Universal Profile standards, they played a major part in helping the GSMA Group come up with the standards.





    edited October 2022 gatorguywatto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 27
    davidw said:
    tehabe said:
    mjtomlin said:
    tehabe said:
    Of course it is a standard, it has been a standard since it first appeared, even before iMessage was a thing. RCS is just the successor of MMS and SMS, not supporting it is a mistake. Also RCS could be the way to create interoperability between messengers. But Apple was never really good in accepting outside feedback.

    Yes, but Google's version is not a standard version of RCS, it is an extension of RCS. Which is what they're pushing Apple to adopt.

    Google is the new Microsoft when it comes to standards; "Embrace, Extend, Exterminate"
    Source for that, Android Messages uses the RCS Universal Profile, if iOS would support this profile it would be able to sent and receive RCS messages, they would be like SMS and MMS messages, with the ability to also sent photos and other things. At the same time, Apple can remove the MMS support. The end to end encryption Google introduced is based on the Signal protocol, so also available for Apple to implement. The only reason Apple doesn't implement it is probably the same why it doesn't support Opus in an Ogg container or fixes the FLAC support for Music. And it is just a fact, iMessage is meaningless for me. I haven't received a single iMessage message so far.

    The RCS Universal Profile is a standard that was developed by the  GSMA Group with the help of Google. Google got involve because of their acquisition of Jibe Mobile. Jibe Mobile was helping the GSMA Group roll out a standard RCS to the carriers. The GSMA Group got involved after many years of the carriers trying to establish a standard RCS protocol that would work across all carriers network and failing to.



    >It is worthwhile to mention that Google is playing an important role because it bought Jibe – one of a few useful RCS clients, and has developed a universal Android client based on the GSMA RCS UP.<



    >In a move announced by the GSMA this week, Google and the GSMA are working together for a text message makeover.<

    Google did not just adopt the GSMA Group RCS Universal Profile standards, they played a major part in helping the GSMA Group come up with the standards.





    So essentially it is like what Apple, Mozilla, Google and other did with WHATWG and HTML5. RCS is an open standard and even Apple could contribute to the development. Reasons not to support it are just not convincing.
    gatorguy
  • Reply 23 of 27
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,116member
    tehabe said:
    davidw said:
    tehabe said:
    mjtomlin said:
    tehabe said:
    Of course it is a standard, it has been a standard since it first appeared, even before iMessage was a thing. RCS is just the successor of MMS and SMS, not supporting it is a mistake. Also RCS could be the way to create interoperability between messengers. But Apple was never really good in accepting outside feedback.

    Yes, but Google's version is not a standard version of RCS, it is an extension of RCS. Which is what they're pushing Apple to adopt.

    Google is the new Microsoft when it comes to standards; "Embrace, Extend, Exterminate"
    Source for that, Android Messages uses the RCS Universal Profile, if iOS would support this profile it would be able to sent and receive RCS messages, they would be like SMS and MMS messages, with the ability to also sent photos and other things. At the same time, Apple can remove the MMS support. The end to end encryption Google introduced is based on the Signal protocol, so also available for Apple to implement. The only reason Apple doesn't implement it is probably the same why it doesn't support Opus in an Ogg container or fixes the FLAC support for Music. And it is just a fact, iMessage is meaningless for me. I haven't received a single iMessage message so far.

    The RCS Universal Profile is a standard that was developed by the  GSMA Group with the help of Google. Google got involve because of their acquisition of Jibe Mobile. Jibe Mobile was helping the GSMA Group roll out a standard RCS to the carriers. The GSMA Group got involved after many years of the carriers trying to establish a standard RCS protocol that would work across all carriers network and failing to.



    >It is worthwhile to mention that Google is playing an important role because it bought Jibe – one of a few useful RCS clients, and has developed a universal Android client based on the GSMA RCS UP.<



    >In a move announced by the GSMA this week, Google and the GSMA are working together for a text message makeover.<

    Google did not just adopt the GSMA Group RCS Universal Profile standards, they played a major part in helping the GSMA Group come up with the standards.





    So essentially it is like what Apple, Mozilla, Google and other did with WHATWG and HTML5. RCS is an open standard and even Apple could contribute to the development. Reasons not to support it are just not convincing.

    What makes you think RCS is an "open standard"?  Source?


    >Google's version of RCS—the one promoted on the website with Google-exclusive features like optional encryption—is definitely proprietary, by the way. If this is supposed to be a standard, there's no way for a third-party to use Google's RCS APIs right now. Some messaging apps, like Beeper, have asked Google about integrating RCS and were told there's no public RCS API and no plans to build one. Google has an RCS API already, but only Samsung is allowed to use it because Samsung signed some kind of partnership deal.<

    Here's a reddit discussion about it ......


    And NO, Apple could not have contribute to developing  RCS standards. The RCS protocol was established in 2007 by mobile operators, (as the future replacement for SMS and MME.) Apple is not a mobile operator. Apple introduced the first iPhone in 2007 and iMessage was not introduced on iOS until 2011. RCS development was handled by the GSMA trade group that mainly represents mobile operators. Even if Apple were to join GSMA group, they would not have a hand in developing RCS standards. Google got to help out in developing the RCS standards because they acquired JibeMobile. Which was/is a member of GSMA.

    Open standards means that any company can freely use the standards. In no way does it mean that any company can contribute to the development of those standards. The "open" in "open standards" does not mean the same as the "open" in "open source".

    Here's a simple explanation of the difference ....







    watto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 27
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RCC.07-v11.0.pdf

    Freely available from GSMA.  Seem pretty open to me.
  • Reply 25 of 27
    davidwdavidw Posts: 2,116member
    crowley said:
    https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RCC.07-v11.0.pdf

    Freely available from GSMA.  Seem pretty open to me.

    That's "open" as in free to use, not that anyone can contribute to developing the standards for it. Like what tehabe was trying to imply.  And that is not the RCS-UP that Google is trying to make the standard on Android. That's from 2019. Google added end to end encryption after that and that version of RCS is only available if the text message uses Google servers (on both end).

    Google acquired JibeMobile in 2015.

    >Google is partnering with carriers and OEMs to offer a native messaging client, Messages, for RCS, SMS and MMS messaging. Messages supports the GSMA’s Universal Profile for interoperability across operator networks and devices.

    Easily updatable from the Google Play store, the upgraded client will deliver a unified messaging experience across the Android ecosystem.<


    This is what Google is trying to do. The mobile operators are no longer interested in implementing RCS for texting because there is no longer any money in it. When it was proposed in 2007, mobile operators were still charging for SMS and MME. It was like $.05 to send and another $.05 to receive a text message. They had plans for unlimited texting and compete with others by including so many free text messages with their subscriptions. But having the full internet on a smartphone changed all that, as one could now text for free, without needing a mobile phone number or a mobile service account. So SMS texting became mostly free, with most mobile service subscriptions. That's why RCS is so slow to being adopted with the mobile operator companies. It's been over 15 years now that these mobile operators could had rolled out RCS as their standard texting protocol. With a good portion of that time wasted on trying to figure out how to monetize RCS, to recover the cost to host RCS text messages on their servers. Then Google stepped in, (by acquiring JibeMobile)

    Google stepped in and propose that these mobile operators only have to implement RCS by way of using Google Messages in their mobile software and Google will take care of the cost to host the text message on Googles own servers. This way all the mobile operators implementation of RCS, will work with each other. How nice of Google .... right?. If enough mobile operators goes along, then Google RCS  standard will most likely become the standard on Android phones because it is the only way to get end to end encryption with RCS. (If both the sender and receiver uses Google Messages on Google servers.) Then Google Messages can compete with messaging apps like Whatsup, Facebook Messenger, Signal, WeChat, etc.. Google goal is to have Google Messages on Android, to be like iMessage on iOS. Every other attempts by Google to establish a competing messaging app on Android, that is like iMessage, have failed. (Over 6 of them and still counting.) Google saying that they are only trying to improve texting for every mobile users, (which end result might be true), is just a cover for their real motive.

    I'm wonder how many billions of dollars Google would pay Apple, to have a Google Messages app (for RCS texting) in the Apple App Store?



    watto_cobra
  • Reply 26 of 27
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    davidw said:
    crowley said:
    https://www.gsma.com/futurenetworks/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RCC.07-v11.0.pdf

    Freely available from GSMA.  Seem pretty open to me.

    That's "open" as in free to use, not that anyone can contribute to developing the standards for it. Like what tehabe was trying to imply.  And that is not the RCS-UP that Google is trying to make the standard on Android. That's from 2019. Google added end to end encryption after that and that version of RCS is only available if the text message uses Google servers (on both end).

    Google acquired JibeMobile in 2015.

    >Google is partnering with carriers and OEMs to offer a native messaging client, Messages, for RCS, SMS and MMS messaging. Messages supports the GSMA’s Universal Profile for interoperability across operator networks and devices.

    Easily updatable from the Google Play store, the upgraded client will deliver a unified messaging experience across the Android ecosystem.<


    This is what Google is trying to do. The mobile operators are no longer interested in implementing RCS for texting because there is no longer any money in it. When it was proposed in 2007, mobile operators were still charging for SMS and MME. It was like $.05 to send and another $.05 to receive a text message. They had plans for unlimited texting and compete with others by including so many free text messages with their subscriptions. But having the full internet on a smartphone changed all that, as one could now text for free, without needing a mobile phone number or a mobile service account. So SMS texting became mostly free, with most mobile service subscriptions. That's why RCS is so slow to being adopted with the mobile operator companies. It's been over 15 years now that these mobile operators could had rolled out RCS as their standard texting protocol. With a good portion of that time wasted on trying to figure out how to monetize RCS, to recover the cost to host RCS text messages on their servers. Then Google stepped in, (by acquiring JibeMobile)

    Google stepped in and propose that these mobile operators only have to implement RCS by way of using Google Messages in their mobile software and Google will take care of the cost to host the text message on Googles own servers. This way all the mobile operators implementation of RCS, will work with each other. How nice of Google .... right?. If enough mobile operators goes along, then Google RCS  standard will most likely become the standard on Android phones because it is the only way to get end to end encryption with RCS. (If both the sender and receiver uses Google Messages on Google servers.) Then Google Messages can compete with messaging apps like Whatsup, Facebook Messenger, Signal, WeChat, etc.. Google goal is to have Google Messages on Android, to be like iMessage on iOS. Every other attempts by Google to establish a competing messaging app on Android, that is like iMessage, have failed. (Over 6 of them and still counting.) Google saying that they are only trying to improve texting for every mobile users, (which end result might be true), is just a cover for their real motive.

    I'm wonder how many billions of dollars Google would pay Apple, to have a Google Messages app (for RCS texting) in the Apple App Store? 
    As always, no need for the essay, no one is paying you by the word.  I didn't read much past the first paragraph as it's all so mind numbingly unnecessary.
  • Reply 27 of 27
    Apple could become a member of the GSMA, because it is not just operators but also industry, Jibe is not an operator member. The issue is not that Apple couldn't integrate RCS but it won't because of reasons. Messages on iOS is meaningless or even useless for me. I only receive SMS via the app. And except for the US iMessage is meaningless, even RCS is mostly meaningless for most people. And if Apple thinks that messaging is the only reason why people are using an iPhone, Apple should maybe fix iOS, I could list a lot of things which should be fixed but they will probably never be fixed because Apple doesn't care, and marks feedback as duplicate or something like that.
Sign In or Register to comment.