Google’s Shaming of Apple for Not Adopting RCS Continues With “iPager”

It has apparently been over a year since Google launched a website dedicated to begging Apple to adopt their preferred messaging standard, RCS. Over that period of time, Apple has mostly ignored Google’s cries and has taken, well, zero steps towards bringing it to iMessage or Apple Messages. That will not slow Google’s assault, though, as they’ve updated that website today and released a new video.

In the new video, Google shows off a device called “iPager,” as some sort of knock on Apple because the pager uses the old SMS technology that Apple phones fall back to when texting non-iPhone users. Yes, SMS is old and bad and this video is here to remind Apple of that, because the iPhone is a pager! It is! Or something. You get the idea.

The video points out that texting between an iPhone and an Android phone uses “outdated messaging tech” and causes “modern texting nightmares.” This old SMS tech isn’t encrypted, breaks group chats, lowers the resolution of videos, and presents green bubbles, which the world uses to bully people with. You know the story. It hasn’t changed at all.

The thing is, the video essentially points out the exact reason that Apple doesn’t care and may never. It says through several frames that “Outdated messaging tech like Apple still uses to text with Android” creates the nightmares. But it’s that “still uses to text with Android” portion that is everything. Apple wants (and has been clear about it) messaging between iPhones to be better than when messaging an Android phone. It keeps people in their ecosystem and lets them continue to sell millions upon millions of phones and services.

The bullying bubble stuff, lack of encryption, poor video quality, and broken group chats are left on purpose. They are almost like a feature to Apple, not a bug for iMessage. If Apple wanted to fix those things when an iPhone sends or receives messages to and from an Android phone, they would have. But again, the poor messaging experience helps them. This is the way, for Apple.

We are all for Google doing this #GetTheMessage campaign. Do whatever you think will help, Google, because it would be nice if Apple helped out and made messaging better for all. Google is going to have to come up with another plan, though, as I’m not sure any of this is reason enough for Apple to make a change.

// Google