Today’s messaging services are infinitely superior to those of a decade ago. Android users have been able to transition from SMS to a more secure and interactive method of communication thanks in large part to Google’s use of RCS (Rich Communication Services).
Today, RCS is supported by all mobile carriers, though some, like AT&T, continue to use their own backend rather than Google’s own Jibe solution. With Google SVP Hiroshi Lockheimer announcing AT&T’s final switch to the Jibe platform today, that is about to change.
Several AT&T customers have previously blamed the carrier’s poor servers for the subpar RCS messaging experience, so the benefits may be immediately apparent. However, customers can anticipate better overall performance now that the business is utilizing Google’s own tried-and-true solution. According to Lockheimer, this information also indicates that the Jibe platform will be utilized by AT&T’s default messaging system, allowing users to obtain the “latest RCS features instantly.”
Since its 2015 acquisition of Jibe Mobile, Google has been working to improve RCS. Even though it has encountered numerous obstacles since then, including those posed by carriers, it now appears that everyone is on the same page. Go to Settings > RCS chats in the Messages app and scroll to the bottom of the page, as shown below, to see if Jibe is being used.
In 2019, without Google, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile/Sprint announced their own implementations of RCS messaging. This eventually led to the company using the Google Messages app to take matters into its own hands. Albeit with or without parties have since put their disparities, industry rival Apple will not move.
While there was some expectation that the European Association could drive Apple to take on RCS informing, similar to it is normal to do with outsider application stores and USB-C for iPhones, the producer isn’t in that frame of mind to package support for RCS inside iMessage.