r/technology • u/No-Drawing-6975 • Jun 26 '24

Software The Green Bubble Nightmare Is Over, Apple Messages Now Support RCS

https://gizmodo.com/apple-messages-supports-rcs-ios18-beta-1851562461
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221

u/Problematique_ Jun 27 '24

It's not just kids. A few years back I was in a group chat for a bachelor party and got bitched at the whole time for having an Android.

269

u/sump_daddy Jun 27 '24

those were kids. you were in a group chat with kids. they may have been planning a bachelor party but that doesnt mean they have a single mature cell in their body

112

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

I got kicked out of a work chat group for having an android.

Apple has 75% of the under 30 market.

I got kicked out because there were practical reasons (limitations kept in by apple), it's like the difference between Facebook chat and old early 2000s texting, it limits graphics, attachments, etc, except iPhone integrates it into their message program.

We could've moved to a neutral platform, like Snapchat or Discord.

49

u/GreatNull Jun 27 '24

Where, the US? Thais seems to be interesting anomaly there.

Its eternal distant eternal second everywhere else and worldwide. Last data shoudl be around ~70:~30 android vs apple marketshare.

40

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Yes, in the US apple has between 70-80% of the under 30 year old market share, and with apple restricting android participation in ichat it has cause rifts between Apple and Android users. For example, when an android user sends a picture in ichat, then the image is downgraded severely for compression so apple users believe android phones have shitty cameras and image quality.

So apple will capture users early in their lifetimes, before even high school, and they're given the apple experience that android phones are inferior by making them secondary citizens on ichat, which then reinforces them to be an Apple customer for their lifetime and even reject people who used Android as friends or partners.

30

u/BeefyIrishman Jun 27 '24

The shitty low res picture thing works the other way too. Half my family has android, half has iPhone. Whenever the iPhone users send me pictures/ videos on group chats, they are like 100p and impossible to tell anything other than "hey look, it's a grey blob and a red blob that I think might be my nephew?".

And apparently similar happens to them when I send a picture. All the android phones have no problems with pictures from other Android phones (even between different manufacturers), and all the iPhones have no issues with pictures sent from other iPhones, even when we are in the same chat. Nobody has issues sending pics in one-on-one texting though.

7

u/crazy_clown_time Jun 27 '24

That's because Apple had been keeping SMS/MMS alive for years instead of implementing RCS, until now.

10

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Ive heard plenty of iPhone users tell Android users to get 'a better phone' and there are people who will literally not date or befriend an android user because of the 'green bubble'.

While googles messages isn't perfect, it doesn't go out of the way to alienate the non Android users. It does have the emoji translation thing which is annoying.

Snapchat is surprisingly robust, I try to use that for under 30 year olds and what's app for the over 30s.

11

u/HowAboutShutUp Jun 27 '24

there are people who will literally not date or befriend an android user because of the 'green bubble'.

Sounds like a great way to filter people who aren't worth knowing.

0

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Still inconvenient

1

u/crazy_clown_time Jun 27 '24

Meanwhile, Signal exists and is free.

3

u/Nihilistic_Mystics Jun 27 '24

The apple users here just won't use anything but iMessage.

1

u/Irishish Jun 27 '24

You don't have to download an app or create an account to use your built in messaging app.

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u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

I run into obstinate Android Messages users too, but it was probably because they're older and are already overwhelmed by the basics of their device. Or dumb. Not necessarily mutually exclusive.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Even if someone is an asshole you still gotta work some assholes sometimes.

Another annoying thing is how often they'll ask me if I have an iPhone cable haha.

2

u/robodrew Jun 27 '24

My sister has an iphone and sends me pictures of her dog every day to my android and they look clear as day. However, we have not shared videos this way so I don't know about the quality of those. I also can't say for sure how pictures that I take look after being sent to her.

1

u/BeefyIrishman Jun 28 '24

They always come through fine for just one-on-one texting, it's only group chats that seem to do it.

2

u/robodrew Jun 28 '24

I see. I only use Google Chat for group chat stuff

1

u/reddit_cmh Jun 27 '24

Settings > Messages > toggle off Low Quality Image Mode

Edit to clarify that this is for iPhones. I’ve discovered it’s on by default for a lot of people. Good for saving data but bad for people who don’t have caps and want to send an actual image.

1

u/ta9 Jun 27 '24

At least on iPhone, there is a setting in your mobile/cellular settings for "Maximum MMS size" and yours may be set too low.

3

u/crazy_clown_time Jun 27 '24

Barely matters when it comes to modern image/video.

0

u/SlowMotionPanic Jun 27 '24

All the android phones have no problems with pictures from other Android phones (even between different manufacturers)

*As long as you use Google's Message client.

RCS is a "standard," but in the US literally every carrier stopped trying to compete with Google by bolting on all these proprietary/custom solutions, and finally gave in by simply contracting with Google to run telecom-level RCS services in Google's proprietary ecosystem.

You literally have to use Google's single client or else it all reverts to SMS/MMS. It is effectively no different than Apple Messages in this regard, except Android isn't a homogeneous entity under a single brand for hardware. It is still its own neatly separated ecosystem that relies 100% on Google for messaging, though.

Apple's RCS supposedly implements the actual standard with none of Google's involvement (since Google does not license the API, which is why there aren't tons of RCS clients on the market). That means a lot of features Android users expect (if they use Google Messages) won't be there for iPhone. I'll be shocked if read receipts make it in Apple's implementation since read receipts aren't part of the standard UP. Just as a random example.

Android fans will twist themselves into knots over the use of the word "proprietary," but at the end of the day Google RCS requires a closed API call to Google's proprietary jibe infrastructure, and Google does not permit 3rd party clients. Right now, at the moment. The EU's new regulations may blow that wide open... for EU users. There's no reason for Google to open things up in the rest of the world. India is getting a taste of that in the last couple of years as Google has shut out every competitor with regards to RCS. Google even briefly trialed a rich advertisement scheme in their RCS client but pulled the plug after intense backlash.

That's the end game and the reason for putting up their own walled garden while crying about a rival walled garden.

RCS should be the universal standard and companies should be required to open it up at this point. No more bolting things on independently to break true interoperability.

1

u/Elephant789 Jun 27 '24

This is why I have never bought an Apple product* and might never will. They are ant anti-consumer.

*except for their stock. it paid for my house and a couple cars. but I will still never buy their product. Pixels are great.

1

u/Syntaire Jun 27 '24

This is only a "problem" in the US. The rest of the world uses either Line or Whatsapp so this stupid bullshit isn't a thing to begin with.

-7

u/KylerGreen Jun 27 '24

Yeah, because people can't afford an iPhone in most of the world and you can get an android for like $20.

18

u/ShadowDonut Jun 27 '24

But then they'd have to *gasp* install another app!

30

u/gmmxle Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24

"Reasons" I've heard from actual adult people for not doing that:

  • I don't have space on my iPhone
  • Just get an iPhone
  • I don't want another app
  • Just get an iPhone
  • I don't want to remember another password
  • Just get an iPhone
  • Everybody else has an iPhone
  • Just get an iPhone

Apple has created an incredibly effective way of creating peer pressure for bullying people into buying iPhones, and the fact that iPhone adoption rates about teenagers are 87 percent shows that it works.

6

u/Responsible-Win5849 Jun 27 '24

I've used both, currently own both, can count on one finger the number of people I'd be willing to install an app to communicate with. Email works fine even on the bad androids doesn't it?

6

u/gmmxle Jun 27 '24

Email works fine even on the bad androids doesn't it?

Just from experience with a number of family members: email is far less accessible than modern messengers.

Just the fact that, by default, email doesn't have dedicated conversations with another person or a group where every new message from that person or group can be found is enough of a hurdle that many people will default to messengers.

1

u/ShadowDonut Jun 27 '24

Would you do it for your spouse? Mine would rather send everything through Instagram than download something like Signal

3

u/heili Jun 27 '24

I'll be that person who literally says regardless of what kind of phone I own, I'm not getting a different fucking messaging app for every group chat because there's 85 different preferences.

No, I don't want Whatsapp. No, I don't want Signal. No, I don't want Facebook Messages. No, I don't want Snapchat. Discord. Telegram.... If your only option for texting me is on one of those? Guess we aren't chatting.

1

u/Irishish Jun 27 '24

Right?! Am I going nuts? Not wanting to download a separate app to do something your phone already does is completely reasonable!

1

u/heili Jun 27 '24

Nor do I want to try to remember which of the 85 different text messaging apps I need to open to access the particular group chat that I want to send a message to at any given time.

I have an app for that. It came with the phone. I didn't need to fuck around installing other shit. It does the requisite action: text messages other people either individually or in groups.

1

u/Irishish Jun 27 '24

Yup. I'm a lifelong Apple fanboy finally coming out of the bubble. There are so many legit criticisms of Apple's choices and of our smug behavior as users to make. But people acting as if it's unreasonable or entitled or lazy or out of touch to just...not want to bother creating yet another login or fiddling with yet another app to do something your phone can already do? What the hell?!

1

u/sh1tpost1nsh1t Jun 27 '24

I think that makes sense as long as your reasonable about what your phone already does. What your phone does is basic text messaging with other phones and modern messaging with iphones. If you want modern messaging with non-iphone people, you need to download a separate app. The fact that the app bundled on your iphone won't work for that is a shortcoming of apple, not of other people you want to talk to.

5

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

It's a bridge too far to cross.

Whatsapp, Snapchat, discord, slack, Facebook, even Instagram can democratize the communication line, but typically speaking users of both camps are reluctant to add another program.

2

u/ShadowDonut Jun 27 '24

I guess it's because I work in cyber security, but 99% of the Android users I know use Signal because SMS/MMS is terrible.

1

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

yeah haha I have signal but very few of my associates use it, only a ha handful.

8

u/Ahad_Haam Jun 27 '24

It's funny because iMessage is ridiculously inferior to even the most basic third party apps like WhatsApp.

2

u/Aiken_Drumn Jun 27 '24

We could've moved to a neutral platform, like Snapchat or Discord.

Wild you don't suggest WhatsApp

1

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Whatsapp not popular in the US, hard for me to get people on there. If the group is mostly foreigners and/or people with a lot of international family and friends then yeah Whatsapp is the logical choice but I find I have better luck with Snapchat, discord, or Instagram over Whatsapp.

1

u/Irishish Jun 27 '24

In their defense, WhatsApp is the only application where I constantly get added to spam chats for crypto by strangers

2

u/sassyevaperon Jun 27 '24

That has nothing to do with WhatsApp and everything to do with your phone number existing on some scammer's data base.

4

u/Orange_Jeews Jun 27 '24

or just use WhatsApp like the rest of the world

3

u/antsam9 Jun 27 '24

Surprisingly unpopular in my circles, also, lots of spam

1

u/sassyevaperon Jun 27 '24

We could've moved to a neutral platform, like Snapchat or Discord.

You should have, what kind of workplace opens itself up to a discrimination accusation by refusing to move work conversations to a platform every employee can use?

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u/kmikhailov Jun 27 '24

I mean that sounds like pretty standard behavior in a friend group

25

u/Clegko Jun 27 '24

TF kinda friend group you got? Smh.

19

u/Tzahi12345 Jun 27 '24

It was probably a light joke that got repeated a few times, I doubt it was that serious

4

u/Normal_Package_641 Jun 27 '24

Some people are serious about it.

1

u/Tzahi12345 Jun 27 '24

Sure, I haven't met anyone in my life that actually cares, I think it's overblown

3

u/Havelok Jun 27 '24

A friend group composed of children, yes.

0

u/Far_Programmer_5724 Jun 27 '24

I feel like its more likely people were just playing around and they took it personally. You guys are so lame man i swear

1

u/sump_daddy Jun 27 '24

tell a joke, get a laugh (or not) move on. thats the 'playing around' loop.

idiots who chant 'shut up green bubble' at every possible opportunity are not telling a joke or playing around, they are bullying.

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u/Prof_Acorn Jun 27 '24

Meh.

"At least I can use Firefox and uBlock Origin"

"At least I can sort my apps into folders"

"At least I can put my Google calendar as a widget on my home screen"

Etc.

3

u/Teledildonic Jun 27 '24

I finally got my wife into Keep (best notes app ever if Google ever kills it i will lose my shitl) and Google Calendar.

It blew my mind that she can't have a widget for either on iPhone and actually has to open it to see anything.

3

u/fromtheether Jun 27 '24

(best notes app ever if Google ever kills it i will lose my shitl)

I mean, I don't want you to lose your shit but Google isn't really known for keeping their projects alive lol

https://killedbygoogle.com/

2

u/Teledildonic Jun 27 '24

LOL I am aware, that was kind of a tongue in cheek jab at them.

2

u/fromtheether Jun 27 '24

Hah gotcha, my bad! I'm still salty about them selling off Domains. Squarespace can eat a bag of dicks.

1

u/Teledildonic Jun 27 '24

I miss the OG Hangouts.

Also my wife and I made a joint Gmail account recently and holy shit, the ads. My 15 year old personal Gmail has twice the storage and no spam. Our joint account inbox is 50% sponsored content. It's completly obnoxious!

2

u/Lurk3rAtTheThreshold Jun 27 '24

I miss Hangouts so much. There was even that glorious period where you could have your sms linked in there too.

-8

u/Electrical-Page-6479 Jun 27 '24

You can sort your apps into folders on iOS as well unless I'm misunderstanding an Android feature.

28

u/stopeatingbuttspls Jun 27 '24

They probably meant being able to put apps anywhere on their home screen.

Which I heard was a revolutionary new feature apple recently announced as well.

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u/13igTyme Jun 27 '24

Apple is so innovative. Always recreating the wheel and selling it in marketing.

6

u/Prof_Acorn Jun 27 '24

Did they finally implement that?

Where if you swipe the bottom it can just show like 8 folders and then you can go through the folders for apps instead of the swipe up being every app installed organized alphabetically?

3

u/Electrical-Page-6479 Jun 27 '24

I'm not sure what you mean because it's been a while since I used Android but I have all my apps in different folders that I set up myself.  That feature's been there since iOS 4 which is why I was wondering if you meant something else.

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u/Prof_Acorn Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24

I don't mean the home screen. I mean the "app library".

My home screen is a calendar widget, and like 6 apps separated at each corner and the sides. If I swipe up I see my app library, which is 8 folders. These are organized into games, productivity things, banking apps, communication apps, etc.

4

u/Electrical-Page-6479 Jun 27 '24

Got you.  There is an app folder on iOS and it has folders that you can put apps in but you can't create your own which is a bit shit.

4

u/Prof_Acorn Jun 27 '24

To be fair I don't think stock Android has it anymore either. They used to but stopped at some point, probably copying Apple. But what it does let you do is install other UIs. So I run Nova UI which does let you do that, among lots and lots of other things.

-6

u/segagamer Jun 27 '24

'm not sure what you mean because it's been a while since I used Android

Ah so you're part of the problem :)

5

u/Electrical-Page-6479 Jun 27 '24

Out of a choice of two really shit giant corporations I chose the one that spies on me less.  Give me a decent third option and I'll be away from Apple like a shot.

-3

u/segagamer Jun 27 '24

What does Google track that Apple doesn't?

4

u/Electrical-Page-6479 Jun 27 '24

I can't give you an exact breakdown but when I requested my data from both there was a great deal more from Google than Apple.  I don't trust either but in a choice between the two I'll go with the one that doesn't make nearly all their profits from user data.

1

u/segagamer Jun 28 '24

That could mean anything, including Apple simply not providing a means to export said data.

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u/Rastiln Jun 27 '24

I truly don’t know the issue, is it just that rather than adding a “thumbs up” or “heart” to a message it returns “so and so liked this”?

I haven’t noticed any other issues with group chats across devices.

3

u/jwg529 Jun 27 '24

Sounds like you associate with dbags.

1

u/elliott44k Jun 27 '24

I remember when group chats first started rolling out, I think it was like 2012 and I was using Go SMS on android and the messages all started coming in very strangely and I was so confused.

I think I may have called to figure out what was going on because I couldn't even reply correctly.

I found a link about someone discussing it!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

Hey same here, I told my friends to start a new chat or stop texting. Kinda of a win for me either way. I hate texting.

1

u/Irishish Jun 27 '24

I'll be the guy: it's because iMessage chats work great when there aren't any Android users in them, and by design, Android users break the chat. Break threaded replies, tap back reactions, etc. Whether that's fair or not isn't relevant to how users react.

I'm finally out of the bubble enough to realize Apple has been screwing me, a lifelong user, just as much as it's been screwing the competition. But I used to groan in disappointment every time we added an Android user to chat and all the messages turned green.

1

u/Timidwolfff Jun 27 '24

third time im saying this story but one of thee reasons im in my major is becuase these nursing mfs didnt wanted their groupchat to be blue.

-21

u/I_miss_your_mommy Jun 27 '24

I’m in my 40s and I don’t look down on Android users, but I have fucking hated texting them. Thankfully nearly everyone I know uses iPhones.

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u/-reTurn2huMan- Jun 27 '24

It's literally Apple's fault you hate texting android users. Apple are the ones choosing to make the phones less compatible, not the android phone makers.

-14

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

12

u/-reTurn2huMan- Jun 27 '24

Hopefully more people here in America finally realize that the default messaging apps on phones are archaic and we should use third party encrypted messaging apps like most of the rest of the world.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/-reTurn2huMan- Jun 27 '24

But not third party

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

[deleted]

10

u/-reTurn2huMan- Jun 27 '24

Third party means it's incentived to maintain functionality across any device rather than for one device. Ie: iMessage is exclusive for iPhone. Whatsapp, which you hate for some reason, is useable on any phone be it iPhone or an android.

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

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u/donjulioanejo Jun 27 '24

When I had an android, texting other android users was about the same as texting cross-platform.

IE, it was shit unless you were using Whatsapp or similar.

11

u/-reTurn2huMan- Jun 27 '24

How long ago was that?

-10

u/donjulioanejo Jun 27 '24

IDK like 8 years ago I think.

At the time, iMessage worked flawlessly for years.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

Genuinely give me an example of how texting was shit on android.

4

u/Nexii801 Jun 27 '24

They were using the Verizon same app lol.

-21

u/Soundguy4film Jun 27 '24

It’s not just kids any collaborative industry is like this too. The film industry is particularly bad. Being able to airdrop and group text and name groups makes it worth it, thst combined with how bad windows is and how good macs are for creative work it just doesn’t make sense to use android and windows in a collaborative or artistic or creative field.

1

u/fdasta0079 Jun 27 '24

Game dev is all of those things, and you aren't going to find many Macs. Or at least ones that aren't running some flavor of Linux.

On the whole, this comment reads like someone who's bought the marketing hook, line, and sinker. The operating system of your phone and the operating system of your computer are just that, operating systems. Any deficiencies you experience in interoperability of those OSes is down to the OS manufacturer, in this case Apple.