Originally the hope was carriers could handle the rollout of new RCS-based messaging, but they botched it by refusing to implement cross-compatible standards until last year. It's based on the Universal Profile RCS standard (courtesy of its Jibe acquisition back in the day), and it adds extra messaging features like read receipts, better group chats, typing indicators, higher-quality media, and more.
In case you've lived under a rock for the last couple of years, Google's been rolling out a new RCS messaging initiative it calls "Chat" via its Messages app. And, perhaps ironically, it's Apple that's standing in the way of that. But, it's still not the "iMessage for Android" many of us hoped it might be. This article originally appeared on 's rollout of its RCS-based "Chat" in the Messages app is now complete, delivering on the years-long promise of a better, universal messaging standard on Android.
But until that happens (if ever), Apple’s new iMessage updates might just alienate Android users instead of create iPhone envy. They might not seem as elegant or entertaining, but folks using Android should still understand what you’re trying to say.īack in June, I had hoped the announcement of iOS 10 would also see the release of an iMessage app for Android, allowing more people to use what’s become a fairly popular messaging client. And rich links appear as regular URLs.Īll in all, most of the new iMessage features will come through on Android. Fun message effects like invisible ink or laser lights aren’t accessible when messaging an Android user. Unfortunately, that’s where the cross-platform compatibility stops. If your iPhone wont send pictures to Android phones, this could be because youve accidentally disabled MMS messaging. You’d think Apple could just convert these animated messages into GIFs and send them that way, but the company didn’t use my no-brainer of a solution. ” And handwritten notes are sent as static images, instead of writing out the note.
Message bubble reactions-depending on whether you send a sticker or a symbol-either send the sticker separately (which actually isn’t a bad thing), or say “Emphasized. The stickers will be static, while the Digital Touch drawings/animations will just show the final image (instead of drawing it out in real time). Animated stickers and Digital Touch drawings won’t appear animated on Android.
The only problem is that most of these features lose their full effect when they get sent to an Android phone. When you start messaging an Android user and get the dreaded green text bubbles, you’ll still be able to send stickers and Digital Touch drawings and animations, use iMessage apps, react to message bubbles with stickers and symbols, and write handwritten notes. Revealed through court documents submitted as part of the legal.
So won’t further custom iMessage features make it worse?Īs it turns out, it’s actually not much worse. Apple Won't Create iMessage For Android To Ensure iOS 'Lock-In' A court filing revealed that iMessage could technically exist on Android, but it hasn't happened because Apple doesn't want people to leave iPhone. Apple could have made a version of iMessage that works on Android devices but chose not to in order to keep people buying iPhones. Some users won’t receive messages, while others will experience broken group messages. Apple is about to release big changes to iMessage in its forthcoming iOS 10 update, which will take the platform far beyond texting with Snapchat-like drawing, stickers, effects, and more.īut all of these changes made us wonder, how will this overhaul affect Android users that text iPhone users?Īfter all, almost every iPhone or Android user can tell you of the issues that abound when sending messages between these two ecosystems.