Google's Chat features make texting between compatible phones a breeze, especially if you aren't sure whether your friend or family member uses another service such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram or another texting app. While RCS isn't yet close to becoming the true replacement to SMS, you should still turn it on if you have an Android phone. The iOS 16 Developer Beta appears to be supporting a similar translation for reactions sent over SMS. In the meantime, Google has improved its Messages app to correctly display reaction icons sent by Apple's phones instead of showing a text describing who 'Liked' your message. But despite Google's campaign, the chances of Apple supporting RCS appear bleak. RCS now has the support of the three major US carriers with Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T committing to make Google's Messages app the default on Android phones sold by the carriers. These include typing indicators, encryption and higher-quality photo and video sharing. Google's Messages app is now the default texting app for most Android phones, and the RCS standard allows for features that are similar to Apple's iMessage without requiring a specific type of phone or setting up a third-party texting app. While RCS-powered texting is currently only available on Android phones, Google reported in May that there are now half a billion people actively using the standard in its Messages app.

The company has been particularly targeting Apple in a campaign to bring the standard to the iPhone to allow for interoperability between the two phone platforms, but that's looking increasingly unlikely.Īpple CEO Tim Cook recently said at Vox Media's Code Conference that he doesn't 'hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy on that at this point,' and if you want seamless messaging with your family, you should 'buy your mom an iPhone.' Google's been developing its Messages app on Android to better compete against Apple's iMessage for years, and at the same time has been advocating for the RCS texting standard that powers this app to replace SMS and MMS across the phone industry.

Sms message app download for android