RCS. A fervent promoter of RCS, Google wants Apple to use this instant messaging protocol in its iMessage application so that it becomes the standard and finally replaces traditional SMS and MMS.
What if we finally used the RCS instead of the aging SMS to exchange messages between mobile phones? This is the dearest wish of Google, which has been defending this protocol for several years now, but which is struggling to make it a new communication standard. Particularly because of Apple, which has so far refused to adopt this technology in its iMessage application, preferring to keep its proprietary format. In a tweet posted Thursday, October 7, Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Google, launched a public invitation clearly intended for the firm with the apple – as evidenced by the colors of the hearts, which refer to the messaging of Apple – to pass to the RCS in order to make a universal technology, mischievously having fun transforming the acronym into Really Clear Solution (really clear solution). He was referring to the gigantic blackout that hit Facebook and its messaging services Messenger and WhatsApp (see our article), and which at the same time deprived hundreds of millions of users around the world of means of communication. And if many have flocked to competing messaging services like Signal or Telegram, which have seen record downloads, most have simply returned to the good old SMS to reach their loved ones.
What is the RCS?
The RCS (for Rich Communication Service) is a communication protocol intended to replace the venerable SMS and MMS for the exchange of messages on mobile. Developed since 2012 by the main telephony players, RCS is both more sophisticated and richer than SMS – originally designed to transmit service messages, a bit like a channel reserved for operators, and not for personal conversations – with functions similar to those offered by apps like WhatsApp, Signa, Telegram or iMessage. Like these services, RCS uses the Internet, more precisely, mobile data, while SMS uses the 2G cellular network. In fact, like these instant messengers, it offers much more flexibility and functions than traditional SMS and MMS: acknowledgments of receipt, real-time location, sending photos and videos, even large ones, group conversations, video calls, etc. etc. In addition, like SMS, it does not depend on any specific company or particular app, unlike WhatsApp, Messenger or iMessage: just use a compatible application – such as Google Messages – to exchange instant messages, independently. from the telephone operator. It is not a proprietary format, but an open protocol. In short, it combines all the advantages of a standardized protocol such as SMS with those of a “private” and modern messaging app.
However, despite its qualities and promises, the RCS is struggling to convince. It has not been massively adopted by operators, who still seem to be content with the SMS-MMS duo and instant messaging apps. Only Google seems to want to promote it, through its Messages application, often installed as standard on Android phones. To abandon SMS in favor of RCS, manufacturers and mobile telephony players need a strong boost, which Google is trying to give once again with this hand extended to Apple. The apple firm has not officially responded, but whatever its motives, we hope it too adopts what could become a simple and universal solution.