For some strange reason (or not so strange, unless we choose to think wrongly) Apple consistently refuses to adopt RCS (Rich Communication Services), even though there is no doubt that this move would be a great improvement for iOS users who would could finally use a technological solution designed to replace the already more than veteran SMS messages. And it may seem that not so much time has passed, but the truth is that these days it has been 30 years since the first message was sent with this technology.

Telephone operators, device manufacturers and operating system managers have been betting on the transition from SMS to RCS for years, as it would allow users to count directly in the messaging app on the device with features that have until now been exclusive to instant messaging. applications, thus ending the huge restrictions on short text messages. In addition, RCS maintains backward compatibility with them for cases where the recipient of the message does not have a terminal that supports the specified technology.

It is true, and this was a negative point at the beginning, that end-to-end encryption was not considered when the specification was born, an omission that is hard to understand nowadays, but which Google finally corrected in 2021. Since then, all messages sent between encrypted by RCS Android devices, providing the level of security you’d expect from a modern communication tool.

as i said SMS messages are 30 years old and to celebrate, Google published a post on its blog. A record that could be limited to celebrating the anniversary and repeating the history of short news, so extraordinarily successful during the first decade of this century. And so it is that until instant messaging apps for smartphones came along, SMS was the preferred option for millions of users when it came to communication.

However, the search engine company took the opportunity to throw a new taunt at Apple in the form of several references, some of which were indirect and others as emphatic as this one:

«And today, all major mobile operators and manufacturers have adopted RCS as a standard, except for Apple. Apple refuses to adopt RCS and continues to rely on SMS when people with iPhones send messages to people with Android phones, meaning their text messages are stuck in the 90s.«.

For a company like Apple that prides itself on being at the cutting edge of technology, such an accusation is bloody to say the least, but the truth is that in this case Google is right. It is not the first time that those from the search engine point to those from Cupertino. We last saw this in August, and we also had a clear (and somewhat arrogant) reminder that Apple has no intention of moving to RCS.