Edit: NOTE, I am the receiver of the texts.
So many people asking me to have my wife do something different on her end.
Beloved, she is on iPhone because she doesn’t want to do anything “weird.” She is texting from her phone number using her texting app. That’s what’s going to happen.
Now, why can’t I get iMessage on my android phone? If it’s just a messenger app why not make it available for Android?
I’d use it.
It’s because Apple has refused to adopt new messaging standards like RCS (not that Google is doing that much of a better job), but it’s purposefully broken interoperability to force people into buying into product ecosystems (iPhone vs. Android) to make you stick with one and get stuck on it.
It’s stupid anti-competitive and I freakin’ hate it.
Literally doesn’t have to be this way, it’s a choice (mostly by Apple, but once again doesn’t mean Google is better).
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/15/24178470/apple-rcs-support-wwdc-announcement-android-imessage
Apple was largely forced to support RCS in response to the mounting pressure from global regulators and competing companies. That may help explain the somewhat disgruntled approach to announcing its rollout in iOS 18.
https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to-switch-on-rcs-messaging-in-ios-18
Here’s a walkthrough to ensure RCS is enabled on your wife’s iPhone, once iOS 18 drops in the next month or so.
Don’t forget to add in the primary reason they don’t want to implement it is exactly because of comment’s like OPs, because it makes it look like Android phones are the problem. Most people assume that it’s because it’s an android it doesn’t work right, and so everyone should just have iPhones. Why fix what is already great marketing for them, even if it is a complete lie?
A lot of RCS is using Google Jibe, it’s one of the ways they were able to roll it out so fast not necessarily with carrier support. I can’t fault them too much for not immediately embracing it. Based on the Toms Hardware link it looks like they are depending on carrier hubs. For me that means I may not get support for a long time as an MVNO user.
The Google proprietary extensions in their implementation of RCS is honestly pretty crappy imho as well. Neither of these companies are “good guys” in terms of RCS standards.
Ah, so Google is taking the Microsoft approach to embrace and extend, but don’t share. Gross.
That’s why I’m kinda hoping Apple would adopt standard RCS and then the ball’s on Google for not cooperating.
Google will also try to block you from their RCS servers if they detect you’re rooted, causing your messages to be silently downgraded. It’s pretty bad.
