Samsung joins Google by pressuring Apple to support RCS Messaging in new video

By now, you know the deal. When an Android user joins a group chat made up of iOS users, all of the great features of iMessage go away. There is no more end-to-end encryption, no more high-quality images, typing indicators disappear, read receipts are no more, support for larger messages goes away, and text is found in a green bubble instead of a blue bubble.  Just last month Google made fun of Apple by running a fake ad for an Apple product called the iPager.

The goal of the ad was to point out that Apple still uses outdated SMS/MMS texting when a message is sent to an Android user. Google is trying to pressure Apple into supporting Rich Communication Services (RCS) which delivers iMessage-like features to Android users when they are in a chat with other RCS users. 

Guess what happens when an iOS user joins a chat that was previously made up of just RCS users. There is no more end-to-end encryption, no more high-quality images, typing indicators disappear, read receipts are no more, support for larger messages goes away, and text is found in a green bubble instead of a blue bubble. Sound familiar?

Nonetheless, Apple has no plans to support RCS because iMessage is considered a selling point for the iPhone even though with RCS, Android users can get the same features. Now, Samsung has joined the fray by releasing a new 20-second ad. The spot is titled “Green bubbles and blue bubbles want to be together. Help Apple #GetTheMessage.”

It shows a text conversation between green text bubbles and blue text bubbles. Romeo replies to Juliet, ” I hate that it has to be like this…can you just talk to your parents?” To which Juliet replies, “I tried but they want to keep us apart. I just don’t understand.” This draws the following response from Romeo, “What did green ever do to them? We’re bubbles too.” Juliet says, “And literally everyone wants us to be together. Ugh.”

The only way Apple will support RCS is if forced to by the  EU’s Digital Market Act (DMA). But as of now, the iMessage platform doesn’t have enough average monthly users in the 27 EU member countries to be a gatekeeper. Once designated a gatekeeper by the EU, the DMA would force Apple to support all competitive messaging platforms on the iPhone in the market. For now, the status quo favors Apple possibly because most Android users don’t understand that they can have the same capabilities as iMessage by employing RCS and messaging other RCS users.

If you are an Android user and want to use RCS, install the Messaging by Google app by clicking on this link.