iPhone 16 is here, but I’m hyped for just one reason: RCS on iOS 18
iPhone 16 is here, but I’m hyped for just one reason: RCS on iOS 18
It's that time of year again, folks. As the tech world has sights set on the latest Apple event that is producing the new iPhone 16 as we speak, we all know we'll be seeing slightly improved phones, some impressive specs, and a few 'innovative" or "magic" new features from Apple. For me, however, th...
Lol, the ios users will still be subjected to the eye-fucking shade of green when chatting with android users. Apple sure loves to mess with their users.
And don't forget the white text with close to zero contrast.
Hostile design right there
- why an ios article on c/android, 2) why RCS? SMS was a good system for what it did, so does that automatically create an obligation to mess it up?
SMS can't do group texting. It can't do images, video, or anything other than a short message (140 to 180 characters depending on your language).
MMS followed SMS and it can do group texting. However, attachment sizes are laughably small, leading to 160p videos being compressed to hell to make it across the tiny video size limits.
MMS also used to cost more in some places. My carrier simply shut it down a couple of years ago because nobody was using it (I live in a WhatsApp country).
RCS is the official next generation of SMS/MMS, made by the people who define standards like 3G/4G/5G. Basically MMS 2.0. Very few carrière launched RCS services when they rolled out 4G, even fewer phones had RCS clients, so you ended up with needing to download your carrier's (inferior) messaging app to maybe exchange RCS messages with other people if they also downloaded their carrier's apps.
SMS still works and has always worked.
Isn't RCS fully controlled by Google now, with encryption only if the messages first go through Google's servers so they can scrape their sweet sweet advertising keywords?
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Most Android phones use RCS, so it's on-subject here since most of us don't pay attention to iPhone news - and is welcomed news because of #2's answer
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You ever been in a low or no signal area, but have wifi, and try to text an iPhone user? Ever try to send/receive photos/videos with an iPhone and they look like garbage? Tired of getting SMS's in group chats of "Mom loved 'Please poop in the toilet next time, we are tired of cleaning it up'" instead of it just "hearting" the SMS message? A lot of new tech coming out today started from something that "was good" and was built on to make it better.
RCS uses data channels so it won't work if other texting services don't work either. It may work better in overloaded networks (RCS can use a separate APN for higher priority, I believe), but it's not like SMS (which snuggles bytes in a space that would otherwise be an empty bag of bytes that is necessary for bare minimum messaging).
The thing about SMS is that it sometimes worked in low signal situations where voice and internet didn't get through. That is a virtue that shouldn't be given up easily. If anything its reliability should be enhanced. It's fine to also support a fancier chat scheme as well, but a robust, 1-to-1 text-only mode is important.
I've had to turn off RCS because, when you don't have WiFi/great cellular data access, you can't do shit. I couldn't even open the messages app.
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RCS is the wrong one to use, since it is not an open enough standard for there to be a single FOSS RCS app on Android. Something like Matrix or the Signal protocol would be better.
since it is not an open enough standard
The standard is fine: https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/RCC.71-v2.6-1.pdf
This isn't an Apple standard or a Google standard, it's a telecoms standard. It's made for everything from IoT to flip phones to tablets to smart cars.
Nobody has bothered to build an app for it, though. Well, carriers have, but nobody uses their carrier's messaging app.
Seriously? Matrix and signal already exists... So you can use them today instead of RCS to your heart's desire.
I think they mean it more as it's not only gonna be Google but Apple who are going to be shoving RCS down their throats of people wether they want it or not by shipping it as default.
On the other hand, the era when corporations cared even the tiniest bit for open standards in instant messaging was gone long ago. Now all instant messaging is a complete mess, we users have to deal with a myriad of apps and protocols that in the end are doing the same thing for the sake of "privacy", and RCS will not fix that. Nor Signal, truth be told.
I yearn the glory days of multi-protocol IM apps like Pidgin and Trident on Android (though +IM seems to still be a thing) - when you could use whatever you wanted without "missing features" or risking to be banned.
The blindingly obvious thing that you're missing is that others aren't using it...
If Apple and Google suddenly adopted it, it would instantly become a new standard in communication.
RCS is the wrong one to use
For you. I have relatives with iPhones I don't talk to frequently but when we get together and somebody takes a group photo it's annoying. Being able to just text a decent resolution photo without people needing to download an app is a win.
I'll continue to use Signal with friends and family I talk to regularly.