Google Messages wants to help you nag contacts to try RCS
Google's been a big proponent of RCS, the standard that modernizes text messaging with features like high-quality media, typing indicators, and read receipts. Apple added support for the standard last year, effectively negating some of the benefits of its proprietary and exclusive iMessage platform, which offers similar features to RCS. Now, Google's working on a feature to increase RCS adoption on the Android side.
According to an APK teardown from Android Authority, Google Messages is readying a feature that'll autofill a message to contacts who aren't currently using RCS, encouraging them to enable the feature on their device. Once activated, when Messages detects that the person you're texting is using SMS, it'll present the option to "Text an invite" that reads:
Hi! I noticed you're using SMS to text. We can share high-quality media and send secure messages when we're both on RCS. Want to try? https://messages.google.com/get-rcs
On Android, the link in the invite text currently redirects to the Play Store listing for the Google Messages app, even if Google Messages is already installed. That won't help anyone who's currently using Messages with RCS turned off, but it's possible that link behavior or even the contents of the message could change before this feature rolls out.
Compared to SMS, RCS definitely allows for a superior texting experience. I'm not sure many people will be convinced to try it by an automated text message, but the feature should still raise awareness about RCS generally.
This new feature was discovered in the latest beta build of the Google Messages app; it's not live just yet. Considering Messages already detects whether the person you're texting is using RCS, though, this addition seems pretty simple to implement. I'd expect to see this rolling out on the user side in the near future.
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