Once again, Apple is being called out for keeping Android users at arm's length with iMessage. The company has been knowingly stubborn about not allowing iMessage on Google's platform, a tale that's as old as time. However, the problem has evolved to one where Google is not asking to bring iMessage to Android but instead wants to bring Android to iMessage with RCS support.
While it seems unlikely that Apple will do such a thing any time soon, we want to know which approach you would prefer Apple take.
The reason why Apple doesn't want to bring iMessage to Android has been apparent, even before it was revealed by recent court filings; iMessage is a powerful lock-in tool, and it can't risk losing that by bringing the app to Android. However, it's a bit less clear why Apple wouldn't support RCS given its benefits over the aging SMS.
The argument could be made that Google's message around messaging has been a mess. We once wrote that RCS wouldn't really take off unless Apple supported it, and to an extent, that's true. However, major U.S. carriers have supported Google's endeavor by making Google Messages the default on the best Android phones, making Apple the main holdout.
While we would like to imaging a world where iMessage came to Android, perhaps we wouldn't have to with Apple supporting RCS. As for what that would look like is unclear — would they still show up green? Would features translate between the apps better than they do now? Google has already been working on making iMessage reactions display properly on Android, so the reverse could be true.
While it would be cool to have iMessage on Android, it could end up being some half-assed effort à la FaceTime for Android. However, Google executive Hiroshi Lockheimer makes a good case why RCS on iMessage could be a better idea.
Let us know in the comments what you think should happen.
