Over the past few months, Google's senior vice president of Android, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has been publicly lobbying Apple for RCS support, and over the weekend, he again spoke on Twitter about Apple's lack of RCS support for iMessages.
Over the past few years, Google has been pushing for a new communication protocol called "rich communication services," or RCS, with the aim of replacing the current SMS standard. RCS provides support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, larger file sizes, improved encryption, and more.
In an article published in the Wall Street Journal last Saturday, it was about teenagers using iPhones who repel Android peers who use green background messages to chat. Lockheimer retweeted the report on Twitter and accused Apple of using "peer pressure and bullying" to sell its products, saying apple could implement RCS to address some of the messaging issues that exist between iPhone and Android users.
Today, Lockheimer tweeted again, clarifying the statement, which sparked a lot of discussion on Twitter. Lockheimer said Google "didn't ask Apple to offer iMessage on Android," the company just wanted Apple to "support the industry standard for modern information," or RCS.
Lockheimer's tweets provide a range of reasons why Apple should adopt RCS, such as cross-platform reading receipts and typing indicators, secure 1:1 messaging between Android and iPhone users, and improved group messaging.
Lockheimer said: "Supporting RCS will improve the experience for iOS and Android users. Yes, RCS will also improve the experience and privacy for iOS users. By not adopting RCS, Apple is 'dragging the industry's hind legs' and preventing iPhone and Android users from getting the best possible interactions with information."
Lockheimer concluded on his Twitter post that Google would be happy to "work with Apple" to make RCS interoperability a reality, something he's said before. Apple was the last major company to insist on not adopting RCS, as U.S. carriers, including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, have begun to adopt RCS support for Android devices. Apple has not made any comment on whether it plans to increase RCS support in the future, so the company's position remains unclear.