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Apple confirmed off iOS 18 earlier this month, and whereas Apple Intelligence often is the headliner, there is a much less buzzwordy function coming to iPhones that I am very enthusiastic about as an Android consumer. Should you’ve ever been aggravated with the texting expertise between iPhone and Android, you need to be, too.
iPhone and Android Texting: A Rocky Relationship
It is nicely documented that—not less than right here within the U.S.—texting between iPhones and Android gadgets is a less-than-stellar expertise. That is nearly fully guilty on Apple, who took a long-standing common customary—cellphone numbers—and turned them into an unique instantaneous messaging app: iMessage.
Everybody is aware of the remainder of the story. Images and movies despatched from an Android cellphone to an iPhone look horrible. Group chats with iPhone and Android customers are a large number. And to make all of it worse, iPhone customers have been conditioned to imagine it is all of the fault of these yucky “inexperienced bubble” Androids.
For the previous few years, Google has been attempting to boost consciousness that this entire mess is Apple’s fault and pressuring them to undertake RCS. Most of the issues are as a consequence of iPhones falling again to the a lot older SMS customary for non-iMessage messages. Nevertheless, there’s by no means been a profit for Apple to repair the scenario. It is possible that they solely determined to undertake RCS now as a consequence of a possible EU determination sooner or later.
How Will RCS Repair It?
So, why am I so enthusiastic about RCS coming to the iPhone as an Android consumer? For the final couple of years I have been operating a BlueBubbles server on a Mac Mini so I can use iMessage from my Android cellphone. It was a enjoyable challenge that ended up being very helpful, but it surely’s removed from excellent.
The factor you could not notice as an Android consumer is that iMessage actually is excellent. It isn’t solely a service that Apple created to lock individuals into iPhones. iMessage has wonderful options that genuinely make texting higher, which is why I wished to have the ability to use it with my iPhone pals. However lots of these options can be found with RCS, too.
On the time of writing, we solely have a really early take a look at RCS on iPhones in iOS 18 Beta 2, however the options are there. Supply and browse receipts, typing indicators, emoji reactions, and high-resolution pictures and movies are working as you’ll anticipate over RCS.
RCS is certainly not on the identical function stage as iMessage, however these enhancements are sufficient for me to ditch my hacky BlueBubbles setup. All I’ve ever wished is for the pictures I ship to look pretty much as good as my Pixel digital camera is able to and to have a few additional niceties to really feel like I am texting within the twenty first century. It was a low bar, however Apple lastly managed to cross it. Inexperienced bubble be darned.
