As time passes, new technologies emerge that replace older technologies. First introduced back in 2007, RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the next iteration of SMS/MMS, however, the adoption has not been as smooth as one would expect after 16 years.
Apple is the (last?) biggest holdout when it comes to RCS interoperability. It has had similar rich functionality for years with its iMessage platform, however, it works natively (and almost exclusively) on Apple devices. Google, the maker of Android, has been pushing Apple harder for a while now to try and get them to adopt RCS so Android users and iPhone users can send each other text messages and expect the same functionality as Android to Android and iOS to iOS users do.
Today, Android really dropped the proverbial gloves and released a new video called “Meet iPager – Help Apple #GetTheMessage” in which they build on the hashtag started by Google to, obviously, help Apple get the message. As Android states in the video description:
“iPager is a device that uses outdated messaging tech, like Apple uses when texting with Android. It comes with all the features you already know: lack of encryption, broken group chats, pixelated pics and videos and the (in)famous green bubble. iPager isn’t real, but the problems that Apple causes by using SMS are. Let’s make texting better for everyone and help Apple #GetTheMessage and upgrade to RCS.”
Samsung even weighed in on the comments with this response:
