Summary
Google Messages has emerged as the de facto text messaging application for the Android operating system.
Google Messages features support for the RCS texting protocol, which is set to receive a major security boost in the near future.
I tried to get my friend to switch from Samsung Messages over to Google's in-house solution, but was met with pushback.
Recently in the news, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) announced the Universal Profile 3.0 update to the Rich Communications (RCS) texting standard. This upcoming milestone release brings with it much-needed end-to-end encryption (E2EE) support -- Google and Apple appear to have put set differences aside to help create this more secure cross-platform chatting experience, which will surely benefit Android and iPhone users alike.
This new development in the RCS texting space is long overdue, but I'm happy to see it finally come to fruition. In many ways, the RCS protocol is the last best hope for frictionless cross-device texting, at least within the context of the North American phone market. RCS has the potential to well and truly kick the outdated SMS and MMS texting standards to the curb, ending the need to rely on juggling through third-party messaging services.
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Encrypted RCS messaging coming soon to iPhone-Android chats
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This news of a more secure RCS has also reminded me of just how fickle the texting and instant messaging scene has proven to be throughout the years. What I've come to realize is that, by and large, it's incredibly difficult to sway people into switching from one messaging service to another.
There's a strong bias towards default messenger apps in the US, as evidenced by the ubiquity of Apple's iMessage platform. Google appears to know as much, too: the company's 'get the message' pressure campaign makes it clear that it wants in on the default messenger action, despite its numerous failed attempts in years prior.
From my own anecdotal experience, I've found it near impossible to persuade friends and family members to switch en masse to services like WhatsApp , Signal , Telegram , or any other viable alternative. The power of defaults speaks volumes: when I recently attempted to get a friend to switch from their in-box Samsung Messages app to the RCS-powered Google Messages , I was met with a mix of resistance and concern.
Google Messages tag
Google Messages
Google's default messaging application, which is installed on many Android phones out of the box. The company's custom RCS implementation brings with it end-to-end encryption.
Old habits die hard
Getting someone to switch to a different messaging app is an exercise in frustration
Set default Android texting app prompt
When I initially encouraged my Samsung Galaxy -toting friend to give Google Messages a test run, their response was one of apathy. Their existing Samsung Messages app, after all, is perfectly capable of sending and receiving text messages, and it happens to already be pinned to the dock at the bottom of their home screen.
I made an argument for switching over to Google Messages by listing off the various benefits the service brings to the table: cellular carrier-agnostic RCS support, the ability to access the excellent Messages web app on PC, and the various sprinklings of Google AI features throughout the interface.
It was only then that I realized the sway of default software.
My tech-obsessed brain was expecting a response of excitement, curiosity, and quick willingness to download Google Messages from the Play Store. Instead, I was met with questions: what's wrong with my regular Messaging app? Will I lose all my texting threads if I switch? What if I don't like it? Will this mess up my phone?
It was only then that I realized the sway of default software, which I now affectionately refer to as the principle of defaults. For most everyday non-tech-obsessed phone users -- which is the vast majority of people -- the benefit of downloading, installing, and setting up a third-party app to replace an out-of-box equivalent is outweighed by the sheer inconvenience of the whole process.
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Google Messages has won the Android messaging war
For better or for worse, Google's first-party messenger app is now a firmly entrenched entity
Various Google messaging app icons
Pocket-lint / Google
It's fair to say that when it comes to the Android operating system, Google has well and truly won the text messaging race. Where Talk, Allo , and others all failed to hit critical mass, the company's eventual decision to double down on RCS and to integrate the protocol into its default texting app was ultimately the right call.
One by one, US phone makers have started shipping their Android handsets with Google Messages preinstalled. To accelerate this process, Google has even gone as far as to rip its previously-available SMS texting app out of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which I'm not entirely enthused about.
Third-party direct messaging apps will continue to coexist, of course, and I hope to see them adopt interoperability with RCS in the future in order to break down ecosystem lock-in. I also hope to see Google create a dedicated API for enabling RCS support on third-party Android texting apps , as to allow them to rightfully compete with the Google Messages app proper.
...US phone makers have started shipping their Android handsets with Google Messages preinstalled.
Samsung's decision to ship Galaxy smartphones with Google Messages preinstalled, as opposed to Samsung Messages, is arguably the final nail in the coffin for non-Google and non-RCS messaging in the US Android market. The two tech giants teamed up to create a custom One UI-looking interface for Google Messages, sealing the deal from an optics perspective.
In the case of my friend, whose Galaxy phone came with Samsung Messages preinstalled by default, I was unsuccessful in persuading them to make the jump to Google Messages. When they inevitably upgrade to a new Samsung handset in the coming years, however, the principle of defaults will come back into play -- the transition to RCS is likely to be a smooth and frictionless one, as I'm sure Google is banking on.
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SMS remains a commonly used texting standard across North America -- here's why I've transitioned to the superior RCS protocol.