What if Google doesn’t actually care about RCS help in iMessage?

Google is working an ongoing marketing campaign to power Apple to deliver RCS support to iMessage on iPhone. Google appears scared of the iPhone’s prevalence, particularly relating to iMessage’s means to transform Android customers. The corporate’s finest hope of getting RCS in iMessage is stress from regulators, although that’s not occurring anytime quickly. Even the EU has but to power Apple to make iMessage interoperable with competing providers like RCS.

I’ve typically stated that as a longtime iPhone consumer, I don’t have the messaging drawback Google suggests. The inexperienced vs. blue bubble debate is a non-issue in Europe. If something, WhatsApp is a extra prevalent service. That includes end-to-end encryption like iMessage and RCS, WhatsApp enables you to chat with family and friends no matter their most well-liked cellular platform. Different related apps exist, too, after all.

However what if Google doesn’t actually care about RCS help on iPhone? What if it’s all for present?

Google’s RCS marketing campaign

It might be attention-grabbing to see what would occur if Apple embraced RCS. Would extra iPhones swap to Android than the opposite means round? That may be a primary, and I think it wouldn’t occur. Would fewer Android transfer to iPhone? Perhaps, however I nonetheless suppose the iPhone has more advantages over Android that Google wants to consider.

What is going on is that Apple has an enormous variety of loyal clients who will improve their iPhones each few years. And that’s regardless of how iMessage works and whether or not it helps RCS. And Apple can transfer tens of tens of millions of iPhones even throughout rougher financial instances like this 12 months. Google getting its RCS into iMessage wouldn’t change any of that.

Google has not too long ago penned a blog post on the problems with SMS safety, the place it presents legitimate factors concerning the getting older customary. The argument is that we want a alternative for SMS, which is the fallback system for iMessage. And RCS may be that customary.

The weblog put up doesn’t assault Apple or iMessage. That’s for Google’s advertising and marketing marketing campaign. But it surely mentions a whitepaper from Dekra and a survey from YouGov to make its case.

The previous appears to be like on the safety points with SMS. The latter is a survey evaluating the opinions of smartphone customers about SMS texting, which reveals smartphone customers care about messaging safety and end-to-end encryption. Additionally they hate spam messages (see above).

The particular Google-Apple relationship

However one thing else occurring with Google as of late made me rethink its relationship with Apple and its growing assaults on iMessage. Google is concerned in a crucial antitrust case, with the DOJ having gone after Alphabet’s principal cash maker, Google Search.

Throughout the proceedings, none apart from Apple’s Eddy Cue testified in favor of Google, detailing the particular Google Search deal that Apple and Google inked a few years in the past. Google Search is the default search engine on iPhone, with Google paying billions in yearly charges. Most up-to-date estimates put the determine at round $8 billion.

Google makes much more cash than that from its search engine being the default on iPhone to afford the price. That’s why Apple would defend its rival/companion in such a fashion. Each events want this multi-billion-dollar relationship to perform.

Apple has been creating its personal Apple Search product over time, with components of it already powering sure native searches in iOS and macOS. I stated I can’t wait for Apple Search to come to iPhone as I belief Apple extra with my privateness than Google. Conversely, that’s why the Google Search iPhone deal is so unusual. It considerably contradicts Apple’s whole stance on privateness.

With all that in thoughts, I discover it peculiar for Google to pursue this dream of getting RCS help in iMessage. All of it sounds good in idea. And a number of the hits at Apple go viral, making waves that promote Android and Google over the iPhone and Apple.

This sort of assault might solely enrage Apple to the purpose the place it’d hasten the discharge of an Apple Search product to exchange Google Search on the iPhone. I’m simply speculating right here, after all. However I doubt that interoperability between RCS and iMessage can be the form of breakthrough occasion that will in the end let Google substitute the misplaced income from iPhone advertisements.

Once more, would Android customers cease switching to the iPhone? Would extra iPhone customers purchase Pixel/Android gadgets than they’re now? I don’t suppose so.

What about regulators forcing RCS help on iPhone?

Clearly, Google would possibly get its RCS win and stay the iPhone’s default search engine. Or the other would possibly occur: iMessage would possibly by no means help RCS, and Apple would roll out its Apple Search product on all its gadgets, thus eradicating Google Search because the default choice.

All I’m saying is that Google would possibly care extra about its particular relationship with Apple than RCS. The anti-iMessage marketing campaign may be only a nice advertising and marketing trick to realize extra visibility for Android and probably entrench RCS because the must-have default messaging system on Android.

In spite of everything, what if another Android vendor comes up with an iMessage-like product that’s higher than RCS? What if Meta finally ends up considering that WhatsApp needs to be the SMS alternative relatively than RCS? Having Apple budge can be nice, however not essentially Google’s actual purpose right here.

As for Europe’s ability to force Apple to add RCS support to iMessage, that’s not occurring anytime quickly. And if it ever occurs, it’ll be a regionally enforced characteristic relatively than a world one.