Tim Cook says to just “buy your mom an iPhone” instead of having Apple adopt the more modern RCS used on Android

At Code Conference, it was reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on Rich Communication Services standard (RCS), which is the “modern industry standard“. After being asked about the subject, he simply implied that Apple hasn’t seen it as a priority.

“I don’t see our users asking us to put a lot of energy into that at this point. I would love to convert you to an iPhone,” said Cook.

The questioner proceeded to explain that his mom uses an Android device, and that he isn’t able to send her certain videos because of Apple’s reliance on SMS. Cook then responded simply by telling him to “buy your mom an iPhone”.

RCS is what Android describes as “the modern industry standard for messaging”. Basically, it lets users do things almost everything that Apple users can do with iMessage—like share high-res photos and larger files, chat with a group, know when messages are read, or make video calls. It’s supported by most carriers and over 500 Android device manufacturers, all except for Apple.

Apple has long refused to adopt RCS, instead using their own iMessages amongst other Apple users. Which is perfectly fine and dandy if you’re contacting just Apple users. But Apple reverts to old-school SMS and MMS messages when sending and receiving texts with an Android user.

iMessages would be sent and received in nice blue bubbles, while texting Android users with the iPhone means that you’ll be getting green bubbles instead to indicate that they’re SMS or MMS. Basically, it clearly tells you that they’re not using an iPhone, and iPhone users use this to ridicule Android users.

Google had even recently launched a wide-ranging advertising campaign urging Apple to adopt RCS. Its ‘Get The Message’ campaign straight up shames Apple over its refusal to adopt the more modern texting standard. And they aren’t alone—some of the big names to have backed Google include OnePlus and Cristiano Amon, the CEO of Qualcomm.

“It’s not about the color of the bubbles. It’s the tiny photos and videos, no texting over wifi and no read receipts. Apple creates these problems when we text each other from iPhones and Android phones, but does nothing to fix it,” wrote Google.

Most of us in Malaysia don’t really use Apple’s iMessage feature all that much, anyway due to WhatsApp and Telegram being the texting platform of choice. But for countries that predominantly use the texting app like the U.S., Apple’s stance almost ostracises Android users—and even make iPhone users think that Androids are the problem.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]