Tim Cook Shoots Down Idea of iOS Adopting RCS Messages: 'Buy Your Mom an iPhone'

[PWolverine]

I agree but the reality is this bullying already exists amongst young people and Apple knows they're benefitting from it.

Please. Young people barely use SMS / iMessage as it is.. It is all Tik Tok / Instagram and other social media platforms. Only adults using Android, inside the USA are whinging about it. Everyone outside America uses Signal, Telegram or Whatsapp as their main messaging platform and have been doing so for many years now.

i see it as a purely american problem, no one else is bothered

It really is. Nobody outside of the USA thinks this is an issue worth mentioning. Everyone else has moved on to other messaging apps. The main SMS/Texts I get are spam, Marketting or cold calls. People that you actually know will use Telegram / Whatsapp generally speaking and this doesn't matter which device you are on.

 

[xpaulso]

As someone that's been using iPhone since 2007, I will never understand other iPhone users unhinged loyalty to iMessage and "blue bubbles". All my communication is done through Discord/Telegram/Messenger or hell, even IRC lol

maybe Android users should start bullying iPhone users that exclusively use iMessage.

I think that is really Tim's point. If you want a seamless iMessage Experience its for apple users. If you want similar functionality for no-apple users there are lots. In my opinion too many options.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

It’s not “the industry” pushing Apple to adopt RCS, it’s Google. They couldn’t get their messaging strategy right (creating multiple platforms, letting most of them die) so they don’t have a great platform themselves. Absent that, they want Apple to adopt RCS to stop customers from leaving Google to better communicate with at least Apple people. It would only benefit Google and not help Apple.

And, looking at the fact that Apple’s marketshare in the US is growing, while I don’t think it’s due to messaging bubbles, it makes sense why Google might think it would be.

 

[dba415]

or the people just use ANY of the existing (telegram/whatsapp/signal/messenger) apps available on both platforms

Yeah but that requires both sides - the android user and the iPhone user - to download a new app.

If Google just released a Messenger app on iPhone, it will only require the iPhone user to download a new app. The Android user already has it by default. The hurdles to improving text conversation is cut in half.

It would be the same thing as if Apple released iMessage for Android, except the opposite. Furthermore, this puts pressure on Apple if they start seeing people use the messages app less, and Google can make sure that their app messaging experience is superior to using iMessage.

For instance, from an Android user POV, they have one messages app. If they receive an SMS from "Johnny", their bubble is one color, but if that message was delivered through the "google messenger app on iOS", that message is a different color. This will actually push the Android user to convince the Apple user to download Google Messenger. It's as simple as sending a text saying "hey, it seems you're sending me an SMS message, care to download Google Messenger so we can chat with more functionality?".

Not sure the rules around this but what if Google sends that iPhone user a message by default telling them that they are talking to a android user and could download Google Messenger on iOS for a better experience.

 

[ilikewhey]

i see it as a purely american problem, no one else is bothered

do tell mr international. 😂

 

[strongy]

Again, it's not the point! Non-sequitur!

A huge chunk of the internet WWW sites don't have HTTPS, should we abandon that?
USB4 was just released, with maybe 2 vendors adopting it so far, should we drop it? Hell, there are vendors who haven't even adopted USB 2.

The quantity of vendors does not mean anything. It isn't an all-or-nothing deal. It is using RCS where it is available, for greater security ON BOTH SIDES.

RCS has no end to end security by default

 

[strongy]

Yeah but that requires both sides - the android user and the iPhone user - to download a new app.

If Google just released a Messenger app on iPhone, it will only require the iPhone user to download a new app. The Android user already has it by default. The hurdles to improving text conversation is cut in half.

It would be the same thing as if Apple released iMessage for Android, except the opposite. Furthermore, this puts pressure on Apple if they start seeing people use the messages app less, and Google can make sure that their app messaging experience is superior to using iMessage.

For instance, from an Android user POV, they have one messages app. If they receive an SMS from "Johnny", their bubble is one color, but if that message was delivered through the "google messenger app on iOS", that message is a different color. This will actually push the Android user to convince the Apple user to download Google Messenger. It's as simple as sending a text saying "hey, it seems you're sending me an SMS message, care to download Google Messenger so we can chat with more functionality?".

Not sure the rules around this but what if Google sends that iPhone user a message by default telling them that they are talking to a android user and could download Google Messenger on iOS for a better experience.

but that requires google to actually make an app and not decide to can it after a few months, simpler just to not use sms and use something reliable like the rest of the world.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Remember for a long time Android didn’t have this standard. iMessage was one of the best messaging platform for communication during that time. I don’t know about you but if someone took one of my features and made “something new” and tried to get me to use it… I’d be a little sore. Plus iMessage and Continuity are one of the few reasons why iPhone users use iPhones over android.

Here’s a kicker I didn’t know about until very recently. WhatsApp for iOS was launched in 2009. iMessage? 2011! Google was shown, BY WhatsApp how to be iMessage two years before iMessage came out! Google could have just copied WhatsApp and they may have found themselves to be the number one messaging app instead of WhatsApp.

 

[grkm3]

Would be pretty funny if Google said you know what Timmy youtube and google maps will no longer work on ios and tell your users to buy an android if they want those apps.

Rcs will only make user experience better on both platforms.

 

[dba415]

but that requires google to actually make an app and not decide to can it after a few months, simpler just to not use sms and use something reliable like the rest of the world.

I'm just saying that it's in the best interest of Google to do that, and there is nothing Apple can do to stop it.

Whether they can execute is another question, but if this were executed well, the entire green bubble / blue bubble dynamic may swing in favor of Google. Either apple adopts RCS, or Google gets a ton of iOS users using Google's messaging app.

 

[strongy]

Would be pretty funny if Google said you know what Timmy youtube and google maps will no longer work on ios and tell your users to buy an android if they want those apps.

Rcs will only make user experience better on both platforms.

now that would cause the government to smack google for six also google would lose billions in ad revenue, rcs is a hodgepodge its also not a standard neither is it supported by the majority of carriers anywhere.

 

[strongy]

I'm just saying that it's in the best interest of Google to do that, and there is nothing Apple can do to stop it.

Whether they can execute is another question, but if this were executed well, the entire green bubble / blue bubble dynamic may swing in favor of Google. Either apple adopts RCS, or Google gets a ton of iOS users using Google's messaging app.

most people are not going to just use a google messenger when they can use any number of existing apps on both platforms that do exactly what you are asking without any work and apple doesn't care which app you use.

 

[dba415]

most people are not going to just use a google messenger when they can use any number of existing apps on both platforms that do exactly what you are asking without any work.

Most Android-iPhone convos just use SMS so clearly downloading and agreeing on which messaging app to use is way too much work. I have plenty of group messages that are green bubble on iPhone, that's because it's way too much work to ask everyone what messaging app do they prefer, and let's all download it. I just stick w/ SMS.

That's why cutting that effort in half so that the decision is nearly made (google messenger) and only 1 side needs to download the app would be more likely to succeed.

I don't use Meta so WhatsApp is not an option. I don't want to create a new account and track a new password if I were to download signal or telegram, etc. But I have a Google account, every iPhone user pretty much does. It's much easier for me to start using a Google Messenger service, and I bet that is the case for majority of iOS users.

 

[kognos]

RCS has no security by default

Wow. Wrong, but wow. Just kinda wondering what metric you used there. By default, iMessage probably doesn't either, depending on your point of view.

Of course it has security. What a ridiculous claim. All is being asked here is for Apple to use RCS where available. It has greater security than SMS.

 

[strongy]

Most Android-iPhone convos just use SMS so clearly downloading and agreeing on which messaging app to use is way too much work. I have plenty of group messages that are green bubble on iPhone, that's because it's way too much work to ask everyone what messaging app do they prefer, and let's all download it. I just stick w/ SMS.

That's why cutting that effort in half so that the decision is nearly made (google messenger) and only 1 side needs to download the app would be more likely to succeed.

most people outside of the USA do not use SMS at all.

 

[Abazigal]

Would be pretty funny if Google said you know what Timmy youtube and google maps will no longer work on ios and tell your users to buy an android if they want those apps.

Rcs will only make user experience better on both platforms.

The map situation was precisely what happened in 2011. Apple showed google the middle finger and released their own maps app in 2012.

I like to think that Apple is now strong enough that they can’t be held hostage by any rogue developer looking to extract concessions from them.

 

[Skoal]

And this is why people love to bully Apple users because of comments like this

Everyone here assuming Cook said this with some evil malicious tone when for all we know it could’ve been in jest. Big deal

 

[canhaz]

Damn, talk about an egotistical response. People here will praise Tim but “buy your mom an iPhone” sounds so unprofessional and obnoxious.

Agreed.

OTOH wouldn't opening up iMessage to a more open platform like Android, weaken it's security and encryption expectations?

Sure you can jailbreak some iPhones but that seems to be a fraction of a percent of mobile users worldwide.

 

[dba415]

most people outside of the USA do not use SMS at all.

My entire conversation is US-centric. I thought it is obvious because this is simply not an issue in ROW, I agree.

 

[Skoal]

Apple is for profit. Special chargers, ridiculous requirements, forced obsolescence, you name it.

Uhh ya! Every business is for profit.

 

[Skoal]

Remember for a long time Android didn’t have this standard. iMessage was one of the best messaging platform for communication during that time. I don’t know about you but if someone took one of my features and made “something new” and tried to get me to use it… I’d be a little sore. Plus iMessage and Continuity are one of the few reasons why iPhone users use iPhones over android.

There are way way more reason than just those two.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

Box office $996.1 million

Woah, how expensive have cinema tickets gotten?!

In NYC, they’re over $20 per ticket last time I checked (2 years ago).

 

[canhaz]

It’s not anticompetitive. There are dozens of messenger apps that allow iPhones and Androids to seamlessly sent texts, videos, and photos. No company is obligated to support a competitor’s preferred standard or technology.

Well yes and no. Imagine Google, Amazon and Apple all decided to run their own versions of the TCP/IP protocols and what a clusterf that would be. One could argue messaging is a communication transport protocol.

In fact SMS and MMS are indeed agnostic texting protocols, so how come RCS cannot be viewed through the same lense?

Is it because Google championed RCS first? If so, that doesn't make sense either because Google developed QUIC too, which became a key part of HTTP/3 which everyone implemented. Apple also authored many protocols that industry adopted later.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

This level of arrogance makes shifting away from the apple walled garden more tempting than ever.

I’d say take the opportunity and make that move. For a lot of people, getting out of the walled garden was the best decision they ever made and they end up much happier as a result.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Although others have done articles on the issues with RCS, I'd really like to see Apple put out a position paper on why the aren't adopting RCS.

Apple’s “paper” would just be a link to all those other articles. As you’ve said, there are a lot of articles out there touting the problem with RCS including the fact that even the GSMA hasn’t said ANYTHING about the RCS they created in years! If the folks that made it aren’t pushing it, that’s reason enough for Apple not to try to drag its corpse across some finish line.