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Messaging has always been a tough spot for Android phones compared to iPhones simply because iMessage is, quite simply, very good in both its experience and security. As Google finally fixes this problem with the broad adoption of RCS with end-to-end encryption, the company is pushing rival Apple to do the same by pointing out that the current fallback method instantly removes security.
In case you missed the news, Google and Verizon today announced a partnership that will see Verizon remove its default proprietary SMS / RCS app and adopt Google’s. In turn, Verizon customers would have access to the Universal Profile that allows RCS messages between carriers around the world and end-to-end encryption as well. This completed the Big Three operators in the United States after AT&T joined the fray in June and T-Mobile before that.
Obviously, things are finally starting to take off when it comes to the adoption of RCS on Android, but there is still a huge barrier to this technology with iPhones. Android users can now chat in RCS between other platform users, but texting an iPhone user brings both sides back to SMS.
Talk to The edge This week, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Head of Android at Google, commented on the point, explaining that while the “other platform” – aka Apple – continues to rely on SMS as a fallback, it is abandoning encryption and, in turn, the security and privacy offered through Apple’s iMessage.
Going forward, the default messaging experience on Android will be more secure. The fallback messaging experience on the other platform will not have encryption if it is still SMS. I think this is a pretty interesting dynamic and I hope that, as everyone focuses on security and privacy, it becomes an important part of the discussion.
It’s a smart angle for Lockheimer and, in turn, Google to play with. Over the past few years, Apple has presented its customers with a strong talk about security and privacy. By embracing RCS and instantly turning messages between iPhone and Android users into encrypted RCS, Apple fulfills this narrative but loses a bit of a competitive edge, so it will be interesting to see how things play out in the future. over the next few years. Lockheimer has apparently not confirmed whether Apple and Google have been in discussions to bring RCS to the iPhone.
It should be noted, of course, that RCS also looks to SMS as a fallback solution when data connections are lost. However, Lockheimer is pushing that fallback is not used when switching between iPhones and Android phones as it is today.
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