Have you ever been frustrated with the quality of texted images and videos? This is often an issue with compatibility between iPhones and Android phones. Android uses an open platform called RCS to send high quality media over text, show read receipts, and encrypt messages. Apple uses a proprietary platform called iMessage to enable the same features, but iMessage and RCS are not compatible. As a result, messages sent between different devices use old technology without these features. Google is trying to stick a thorn in Apple’s side with a new marketing campaign that calls on “Apple to fix texting”. Apple’s CEO, meanwhile, says that the solution is just to “buy your mom an iPhone”. Unfortunately, these two tech behemoths don’t appear to be eager to find some middle ground anytime soon. And we as users are stuck with a sub-optimal texting experience.
