“Texts go green, it hits a little different, doesn’t it?” Drake sings. In the context of the song, it is a reference to what happens when you try to send a message from an iPhone to someone who has blocked you on iMessage. The message doesn’t go through, of course, and it turns green. Usually, iMessage texts appear in blue bubbles. The song is about a toxic relationship. But Google’s social media team made it an opportunity to have another jab at Apple for its unwillingness to support RCS (Rich Communication Services) on iOS. That’s because text messages sent from an Android device to an iPhone or vice versa also appear in a green bubble. Adopting RCS on iOS would solve this problem and the cheeky video reminds Apple of that for the nth time.
Google takes another jab at Apple regarding RCS
RCS is a new messaging standard that most Android makers and wireless carriers have already pledged support for. It brings modern messaging features such as typing indicators, read receipts, and more. It also allows you to send bigger files over the internet. On top of all this, RCS would solve the issue with cross-platform messaging between Android and iOS. Unfortunately, Apple has been reluctant to offer RCS on iPhones. Google has been very vocal in criticizing the company for this reluctance. Earlier this year, Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer labeled Apple’s decision as a “documented strategy” to protect iMessage’s lock-in effect. He was referring to the same blue-green differentiation that tells iPhone users if someone in their group is using an Android device. This differentiation also makes young users feel excluded, thus attracting them to iPhones for the sake of inclusion. Lockheimer suggested Apple is using “peer pressure and bullying” to unethically sell products. Of course, iMessage already supports all the modern messaging features that RCS brings to Android. So there’s not much benefit of the new messaging standard to the iOS ecosystem. But Apple could easily make cross-platform messaging between Android and iOS more interoperable with RCS. Until it does, expect Google to continue poking at it.
— Android (@Android) June 18, 2022
