If you and your friends only send text and simple stuff that can be handled by MMS than you clearly don't need a messanging app that works with data
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US carriers kill Google's RCS messaging initiative
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If you and your friends only send text and simple stuff that can be handled by MMS than you clearly don't need a messanging app that works with data
No, they're using iMessage, which does both. It's just seemless so iPhone users don't see the difference. Until a green bubble pops up.
I know how imessage works but GreenMoneky said specifically that they all use SMS.
And again, it is apples fault that there is no imessage for android.
SMS/MMS are free in the US, and have been for nearly a decade. That is why people in the US have never had the same urgency to download the data based apps like whatsapp. You can have group chats over sms.
As far as iMessage vs Whatsapp is concerned... Its all about how the argument is framed.
If we're talking about the reality of the situation... then, in the US, iMessage is the "superior" option because 1) Apple is practically half the market here. 2) It falls back to SMS/MMS when it needs to communicate with the other half. Meanwhile, Whatapp has ~10% of US mobile users and those are the only people it is able to communicate with. If all the Android users in the US were using whatsapp then I could see a compelling argument for Apple users causing fragmentation and "Forcing" others to use SMS... but that is not the case. Not even a majority of Android users are using whatsapp to communicate with one another.
If we're talking about what we all wish would happen.... then RCS is the superior option. The carriers fully support it + Apple adopts it into iMessage = everyone has quality messaging tools without having to do anything or fork over more data to facebook... especially when the founders of whatsapp left over privacy and data concerns.
WhatsApp, along with other messaging apps are very popular here in the US. I think the thing is that sms and iMessages are the most common denominator. 🤷♂️
Edit: As mentioned above sms and iMessage are free in the US. Another reason why those are still the go to messaging apps for Americans.
Edit: As mentioned above sms and iMessage are free in the US. Another reason why those are still the go to messaging apps for Americans.
To an iPhone user, there is no difference. iMessage works for everything EXCEPT sharing rich text messaging, high res images and video specifically with Android Users. And most iPhone users couldn't give a rats ass about that feature. So they use SMS/MMS because they can "talk" to everyone, even though they can only use advanced messaging app features with other iPhone users. The Tyranny of the Default.
This ONLY works in the US because we're the only large country where Apple has such a dominant marketshare. And in the case of teens, the iPhone has become so culturally ingrained in how kids grow up, that there is a real social stigma to being a "green bubble". That's why over 80% of US teens use an iPhone.
OF COURSE it is Apple's fault. And they will fight long and hard to ensure this remains the status quo for as long as possible.
Carriers adopting CCMI is at least a small, long-overdue step in the right direction. It is too bad Google couldn't strong-arm the carriers into leveling the playing field in the US messaging market. But everyone is too afraid of pissing off Apple here to really make any significant moves.
This is how it works in the rest of the world too though, and WhatsApp is dominant in a lot of places.
Pretty bonkers how much hand wringing there is over installing a free app but people will happily buy a $700 device for the same functionality.
A lot of people in western Europe are transitioning from WhatsApp to Telegram but it's happening slowly. When I first downloaded the app I had only one contact that used it, now it's 30 plus. It hasn't been some horrific horror show to use two messaging apps at once (three really as I also get SMS), the notification turns up and I tap it. When I was barely using the app I wasn't stressful for me that it was taking up a few dozen mb on my phone and not really being utilised.
I know that my 72 year old father and his friends will not transition away from WhatsApp, they're happy with what it does and I'll keep that app even if he's the only person I talk to on it. I would rather have it installed and never use it than be tied to a hardware specific platform which offers a lesser experience to some of my contacts.
A lot of people in western Europe are transitioning from WhatsApp to Telegram but it's happening slowly. When I first downloaded the app I had only one contact that used it, now it's 30 plus. It hasn't been some horrific horror show to use two messaging apps at once (three really as I also get SMS), the notification turns up and I tap it. When I was barely using the app I wasn't stressful for me that it was taking up a few dozen mb on my phone and not really being utilised.
I know that my 72 year old father and his friends will not transition away from WhatsApp, they're happy with what it does and I'll keep that app even if he's the only person I talk to on it. I would rather have it installed and never use it than be tied to a hardware specific platform which offers a lesser experience to some of my contacts.
It's not about how big they are individually. It's when you have FBM and Whatsapp and Telegram and Signal and LINE and etc. alongside the other stuff like Netflix, Instagram, Youtube et al. it becomes a problem for your average 16 GB phone. Not to mention that the app itself may not be big, but the cached data tends to take a bit of space.
So can I start a (named) group conversation on Android by SMS and it'll function just like an iMessage group conversation? I mean I can send sms messages to multiple recipients on Android, but never seen it as a group conversation like on whatsapp or so.
I'm still sending text messages to someone with one of those modern flip phones and a 3G only Motorola Droid phone
A group message is an mms feature, but any name you give it is just for your device, unlike with other programs
I havent used an Android phone in years but back then you could choose between SMS, which would mass text each message individually, or you create MMS groups which sends to a proper group. The functionality is super basic but it works.
Google is just an incompetent tech company that sells ads.
(Not that Android isn't a success. However, it's a free operating system that they use to basically game the system and push all their services onto consumers.)
Fuck.
(Not that Android isn't a success. However, it's a free operating system that they use to basically game the system and push all their services onto consumers.)
Fuck.
It wasn't just Google behind RCS. It was based on 3GPP specifications and was backed by GSMA as well. US operators just suck is all.
It honestly baffles me how people keep pushing Telegram, has anyone actually looked into them, they aren't exactly transparent. While you could say Whatsapp owned by Facebook aren't either at least they are using standard encryption and not proprietary stuff like Telegram. There is a number of other ones you could like Wire that are more open. Just seems weird to bat for Telegram when people post about them. I think that's why SMS isn't ideal these days and needs replaced, if you want privacy like iMessage etc. but maybe most people don't care.
Which is another problem, iPhone users don't understand how shitty their video and pictures look to non iPhone users. That's the main reason I tell people to get off iMessenge.
No one here uses WhatsApp. Installing it doesn't really help you communicate if everyone else isn't using it.
These conversations are frustrating.
If you don't live in the US, and don't seem to be willing to understand that Unlimited SMS/MMS evolved differently here and drastically changed how people in the US adopted apps like WhatsApp, then what are you really getting out of this conversation?
I'm just seeing people going to great lengths to explain this difference, while continuing to be ignored by people who would be quite upset if that same ignorance were shown in reverse.
If you don't live in the US, and don't seem to be willing to understand that Unlimited SMS/MMS evolved differently here and drastically changed how people in the US adopted apps like WhatsApp, then what are you really getting out of this conversation?
I'm just seeing people going to great lengths to explain this difference, while continuing to be ignored by people who would be quite upset if that same ignorance were shown in reverse.
I've only ever had an iPhone for 2 of the 10 or so years I've owned a smartphone and I've never really had any issues with messaging.
I kind of don't understand why it's such a big deal but I'm 35 and maybe I'm just past the stage were people are weird about which phone you own or what apps you use.
I'm in the US and I have a group of 10 friends and we use WhatsApp for group stuff.
I kind of don't understand why it's such a big deal but I'm 35 and maybe I'm just past the stage were people are weird about which phone you own or what apps you use.
I'm in the US and I have a group of 10 friends and we use WhatsApp for group stuff.
It has evolved differently in US. It evolved into annoying green bubbles vs blue bubbles. Youre ok with that?
Only stupid children give a shit about the bubbles. App siloing is by far a bigger issue.
Adults too. It's no different than the bbm vs sms thing in the 2000s.
This.
WhatsApp is a great app and we get why it's so used. However, it'll never catch on in the US for reasons outlined in this thread.
I'm not seeing a great deal of disagreement over the reasons for adoption.
What's frustrating to me is people making an argument for SMS/MMS being adequate, when it isn't. It's fine to make that claim when you're on iOS but there are a wealth of features in modern messaging protocols that SMS and MMS doesn't come close to covering. An iMessage user would not be happy going from that protocol to one without:
- high res images
- location pins
- live location
- stickers
- proper group messaging
- read and delivery receipts (delivery is on SMS depending on carrier)
- voice notes
- video and voice calls
- status updates
- profile images set in the client
- forwarding
- native backup
- end to end encryption
- privacy settings
Really it's down to Android users in the US, clearly that's what happened from some of the replies, WhatsApp is on their iPhone for Android users who expect more.
However in this thread it's not Americans doing the complaining. We're perfectly happy using sms because it's free. Some Europeans in this thread can't seem to understand that.
This is incredibly reductive. The US is not Europe, and vise versa. It's strange that, in almost any other subject, people seem to be more willing to understand this.
I have hundreds of contacts in my phone.
Of those contacts I've collected over the years, a grand total of two use WhatsApp.
So what should I do to change that situation? Other than waste my precious time becoming essentially a brand ambassador for an App for free?
If your grand solution to the issue of messaging in the US is just "well, why don't you all just start using [insert app here]?" Maybe posit that you don't have much to contribute to this conversation.
Salt in the wound: Apple tried to offer iMessage to carriers for android. They declined.
Not handing over all my text messages to Facebook....
Yeah, Google doesn't seem to want to go to war for this feature. They absolutely can and should though. It's about to be 2020 and Android should have a robust text system similar to iMessage.
Not handing over all my text messages to Facebook....
Yeah, Google doesn't seem to want to go to war for this feature. They absolutely can and should though. It's about to be 2020 and Android should have a robust text system similar to iMessage.
Agreed. My 75 year old father isn't going to learn some convoluted texting app. He knows how to tap the green icon and all texts go there regardless of platform. Same for the rest of my family.
Of course we do. We just don't use it because sms texts over cellular signal is free here and highly robust. Also, WiFi is almost entirely provided by private users (home, businesses). It's not a public utility like it is in the EU and Asia.
You guys had a reason to (most cellular plans charging for SMS/MMS at the time), we didn't since those features have been free for us for years.
Then Apple dropped iMessage for their phones and locked everyone using their phones to their system.
We're not wedded to SMS, people have been wanting something better for a while now. There's just a lot of factors preventing it from happening as fast as we want it to.
SMS/MMS sucks and I'd love nothing more than for it to die in a fire, but it's what we're (sadly) stuck with for the immediate future.
I don't understand the "no one in the US uses WhatsApp" crowd. Lived in SF and live in NYC now. I do all communication, with all friends, over WhatsApp. It's what everyone uses here.
Is it a central US thing to not use it?
Is it a central US thing to not use it?
I think it's just different among each individual. My brother lives in the SF area and works for Oracle. Everyone he communicates with uses sms.
My mother in law would never switch to WhatsApp, or any other messaging service.
She's way to stubborn and SMS works for her, so she won't change.
Most of the people I communicate with use FB Messenger, but I have to use SMS to message my mother in law.
It's not a location thing, its that most people just don't care. All they want is to send and receive messages, SMS does that and is built into their phone.
They don't care about if there's a better way to do something if what they're currently using works.
PowerThroughLov I'd be insterested to know what the spread is, my family in San Diego and Miami are on WhatsApp, they do travel a fair amount. I have to imagine if you have an international social circle you're going to be on other platforms. I think it would stand to reason that in an international city like NYC you're going to see more use of those platforms, but who knows.
My dad at 73 manages well, maybe In 2 years he'll find a new meaning for convoluted.
Nobody is arguing that SMS/MMS is better, we know it's not.
Here's how much of a hassle it would be to move my mother in law to WhatsApp (or another messaging service)
I'd have to convince her (easier said then done, she's stubborn as shit)*.
Then I'd have to convince my fiancee and my sister in law (again easier said then done)
Then I'd have to get my mother in law's friends to move over or they can't message with each other (which won't happen)
The headache this would cause just isn't worth it.
The alternative to all of that is to just stick with SMS/MMS and avoid the headache.
* This women refuses to accept change and will fiercely fight anything that takes her out of her comfort zone.
The United States is a country of over 300 million people.
The vast majority of those people are not international travelers.
Born and raised in Los Angeles here. Currently live on the East Coast (Philly). Again, a grand total of two people I know use WhatsApp.
The vast majority of those people are not international travelers.
Born and raised in Los Angeles here. Currently live on the East Coast (Philly). Again, a grand total of two people I know use WhatsApp.
Hey, there's a comment in the last page by Freestyler that I reported. Can you check it, please?
Don't confuse a tech article discussing how things are evolving and the problems involved with demands of the vast majority of the people. They're not even the same. Most people out there aren't complaining to the point where they're interested in finding a solution. That doesn't mean they won't take a solution that is thrust upon them but they aren't going out there searching for a solution.
I live in the Silicon Valley and I don't know anyone who uses it. I even tried at one point and it was an annoying result. It's not something just in the fly over states.