Google is running a “Get the Message” campaign calling for Apple to adopt RCS (Rich Communication Services) on iPhones on the streets of New York City. It plans to cover more than 500 digital billboards in Manhattan and Brooklyn with campaign ads. The ads remind iPhone makers that their reluctance to support RCS is disrupting text messaging between Android and iOS devices.
As reported by 9to5Google, this campaign will run from August 25 to October 6. It will be a digital campaign with no static billboards. During this time, Google will be rolling out more ads targeting Apple because of the lack of RCS on iPhones. The publication can reach several of these, and they highlight the problems users face when messaging across platforms.
First, Google told Apple that sending files via text between an Android smartphone and an iPhone seriously affects the resolution of the file. This is because the handover takes place according to the outdated MMS standard. With RCS, users can send large files in high resolution. The new messaging standard also offers modern features like indicator typing and receipt reading. Google also reminds Apple of that.
The company also highlights the blue/green bubble phenomenon on iMessage. Messages sent from an Android device to an iPhone appear in a green bubble, while messages between two iPhones appear in a blue bubble. Google claims that this difference, along with all the other issues mentioned above, makes young Android users feel out of place in group chats, driving them towards the iPhone. The company says this is a well-documented strategy from Apple to preserve its lock validity.
Google is openly calling out Apple for the lack of RCS on the iPhone
Google has long urged Apple to adopt RCS on iPhones so that all mobile users can benefit from a messaging system that is more compatible across platforms. However, Apple has yet to budge. Since the iMessage app already provides most of the RCS features, the iPhone maker doesn’t care about people chatting with Android users. Google has done some subtle and not-so-subtle research because of its deliberate refusal to support this modern messaging standard.
Last week, the search giant launched a website to start its “Get The Message” campaign. It follows an unofficial lyric explanation video for Drake’s newly released song “Texts Go Green” in June. Along with these online efforts, Google is also currently running a campaign against Apple on the streets of New York City. But it remains to be seen whether Apple will eventually agree to support RCS on the iPhone.
