Messenger supports
RCS messaging, audio messaging, emoji, location sharing, colored text threads, and message archiving.
As GSMA points out, the platform for
RCS Messaging is clearly getting a lot of traction with brands and operators, especially with the inclusion of the listed brands in today's announcement.
A lot of these are things Google's been pushing with
RCS messaging, but seeing as how carriers are dragging their feet in its adoption process, Google might have found a way to take matters into its own hands.
After laying the groundwork and garnering support from carriers worldwide, Google is finally launching
RCS messaging.
Android Messages, Google's default SMS /
RCS messaging app formerly known as Messenger, has been updated to version 2.2.67.
Google has been trying for years to get other companies on board for a universal standard that everyone adheres to so that
RCS messaging can be used across all of Android.
But with
RCS messaging, Booking.com can send a photo, formatted text, and even buttons to add the customer's booked trip to their calendar:
Some very specific Android users can now communicate with brands using
RCS messaging.
This week, it announced that Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Globe will offer
RCS messaging to their Android phone customers.
And, not coincidentally, Google also bought a company, Jibe, which has allowed it to offer services that let corporations build
RCS messaging systems.
With Duo and Allo (and Google Chat, Android SMS, and Spaces) for consumers,
RCS messaging services for carriers, and Hangouts for the enterprise, Google is still a bit chaotic when it comes to communication.
Google is pushing hard on
RCS Messaging as the new standard for SMS communications.
Google says it's collaborating with Huawei to extend its Jibe RCS cloud and hub solution to current and prospective partners as part of an integrated solution with Huawei's infrastructure, which will make it easier for carriers to roll out
RCS messaging to subscribers.
The first change comes to us in the form of a rename for the messaging app that was a crucial element in the push for
RCS Messaging.
Demonstrations of business - oriented
RCS Messaging will be showcased at Mobile World Congress in the coming days.
After their partnership with Sprint, Google went on to bring
RCS messaging on Rogers in Canada and Telenor in Europe and Asia.
Today, Google is announcing a bunch of new changes with regards to
RCS Messaging on Android.
To help carriers accelerate deployment of
RCS messaging across their networks, HUAWEI is collaborating with Google to offer the Jibe RCS cloud and hub solution to current and prospective carrier partners, as part of an integrated solution with HUAWEI's IMS.
This ensures that Android users can continue to access all the features of
the RCS Messaging platform.
So far we've launched
RCS messaging with carriers in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, and starting today we're partnering with Telia Company to bring
RCS messaging to their millions of subscribers across Nordics, Baltics and Eurasia.
It brings to more than 1 billion the number of Android phone users who now have
RCS messaging on their devices.
With
RCS messaging, Telia subscribers will automatically have access to advanced features on their Android device.
Google has been striking deals over the last year with carriers and manufacturers to get them to preload Android Messages, Google's
RCS messaging app, onto phones.
In addition, to help carriers accelerate deployment of
RCS messaging across their networks, we're collaborating with Huawei to offer the Jibe RCS cloud and hub solution to current and prospective carrier partners, as part of an integrated solution with Huawei's current infrastructure.
More than forty carriers and phone manufacturers are working together to bring
RCS messaging, the radical new version of text messaging, to people around the world, according to a blog post from Google.
The blog post states that members of the RCS community will be showcasing
RCS messaging for businesses at stands at MWC, and with Google's annual I / O conference also around the calendar's corner, it's a safe bet to assume that we haven't seen the last of Google's push toward an RCS - future.
RCS messaging would change that.
According to the news reports, the search engine giant Google teased a couple of major updates apart from ARCore, Lens &
RCS Message, which came to...
This will allow
RCS messages to be delivered to subscribers across carrier networks while still retaining their functionality and features.
From there, they created the Universal Profile and incorporated the tech into the Android Messages app, so now, it's just a matter of getting the carriers to implement it before
RCS messages will be a reality.
For SMS, MMS, and
RCS messages, the Pixel 2 uses Android Messages.
According to the company, more than 30 million T - Mobile customers send more than 250 million
RCS messages per day on the network.
While it didn't announce anything new at MWC, the company did say that it entered a partnership with several carriers (America Movil, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, KPN, Orange, Sprint, TeliaSonera, Telstra, TIM, VimpelCom, Vodafone, to name just a few) to develop
RCS messages.
With his help, Google has convinced several carriers to support the Universal Profile standard to ensure that
RCS messages are delivered to customers successfully.
It gets even better as anyone who is using a platform that doesn't support
RCS messages will still receive the messages as SMS.
Not exact matches
RCS brings many of iMessage's best features (think high - res photo sharing and typing indicators) to Android
messaging and will very likely replace SMS
messages.
RCS on Sprint will enable enhanced
messaging features on Android phones like better group
messaging, high resolution photo sharing, advanced file transfer, typing indicators and read receipts.
RCS could be described as SMS
messaging on steroids.
Google has been working on this for some time — default Android
messaging app Android
Messages had
RCS support enabled last year, Google's Jibe service was launched around the same time, and aims to bring
RCS services to businesses, and last year the service announced that it was working with 27 carriers and manufacturers to introduce the next generation of text
messaging.
Google seems keen to push that particular angle and is highlighting the ways that businesses can use
RCS's features to bring their products to customers, and even let them buy and process orders through a
messaging app.
We're excited to see Android
Messages and
RCS connect more people and businesses, and look forward to expanding our collaboration with the industry to bring better
messaging to every Android user.
Google is also opening an Early Access Program to allow businesses to send
messages via
RCS.
RCS is SMS - compatible, so recipients without
RCS receive simple text
messages without the bells and whistles.
With
RCS, businesses can send more useful and interactive
messages to their customers.
Vodafone Group
RCS service also supports Android
Messages and has already launched across 10 of its 14
RCS markets globally.
With version 3.0 of Android
Messages beginning to roll out this week, Google is already working on the next update to the SMS and
RCS client.
Last year we created an Early Access Program to make it easier for brands to start participating in
RCS business
messaging (the mobile industry's term for rich business - to - consumer
messages).
Google has just announced that a slew of OEMs have agreed to use Android
Messages as the default
RCS client.
Version 2.9 of Android
Messages is rolling out and a teardown reveals that Google has very big plans for its official SMS /
RCS client.
Featuring read receipts, multimedia
messaging, and more,
RCS is a standardized attempt to upgrade SMS with features found in services like WhatsApp and iMessage.