Verizon finally embraces RCS, now the only holdout is Apple

Starting next year, Verizon will make Android Messages the default texting app on all of its Android devices.

Verizon ad it joins the ranks of its competitors, AT&T and T-Mobile, by prioritizing the Google Messages application app, which natively supports and implements Rich Communications Service, or RCS. The operator is working with Google to offer Android users “a solid messaging experience that allows them to interact with loved ones, brands and businesses in new and innovative ways.”

Forget about brands. With the move, Verizon users won’t be sensitive to the bloated Message + app, which the carrier preloaded on its Android devices. We have an explicit roadmap from Verizon detailing how it will not only support RCS technology, but also actively work towards its implementation. The RCS allows messaging features like high-resolution photos and videos, end-to-end encryption, precise read receipts, and even message reactions, all of which iPhone users have enjoyed together for years.

Apple is technically the last hurdle in this journey to achieve a Unified Messaging standard across all platforms. Google seems to be doing a bit of cajoling to bring Apple on board.

“Going forward, the default messaging experience on Android will be more secure,” said Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Android, Chrome OS and Play Store. The edge. “The fallback messaging experience on the other platform won’t have encryption if it’s 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.

There has been no confirmed discussion between Google and Apple regarding the implementation of RCS on iOS devices. But it would be nice for Apple to play along, especially to take advantage of the current 473 million global RCS users, a number likely increase once again we users get on board. Analysts expect the number of users to reach billions over the next five years.

Although the Play Store offers a host of SMS apps, Google’s native solution has been in constant flow. With Allo haunting Google’s Graveyard and Hangouts soon evolving into his final form as Google chat (hopefully) it’s time for Google to decide how it will handle text messaging. This multiplatform solution relies on the RCS infrastructure to function, so it was crucial to get all the Major carriers on board.

Verizon Message +, or Verizon Messages, will stay, because this is one of the ways that subscribers have saved text messages to the cloud. Verizon said the app will have “full access to RCS capabilities” by the end of the year, which bodes well for the overall rollout.