Awkward! Carl Pei reacts as Apple confirms RCS days after Nothing Chat brought iMessage support to Android

Nothing is more awkward right now (pun intended).

Amid the whole Google vs Apple RCS drama with the European Union (EU), Nothing tried to one up the two tech giants by stepping in from nowhere. Earlier this week, it announced that Nothing Chat will soon bring iMessage support to Android smartphones –– starting with Nothing Phone (2), of course. However, Apple ruined all the fun for Nothing after the Cupertino giant announced on Friday that it is finally adding RCS support to iMessage. This had to be awkward for Nothing!

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However, Nothing CEO Carl Pei behaved like a good sport, coming out to applaud Apple, Google, and the EU for making this happen. “Great decision! Good for consumers, competition, and innovation. Hats off to the EU, telcos, Google, and most of all to Apple. ðŸŽé”, he posted on X a few hours ago.

For the uninitiated, Apple has announced that it is adopting the Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging standard, marking a step toward a cohesive messaging experience across platforms. This enables Android users to access iMessage features, including read receipts, typing indicators, and high-quality media sharing. The functionality extends seamlessly over both Wi-Fi and mobile data networks. Moreover, the integration of RCS will empower users to share their location within text threads.

However, don’t rejoice so soon, because this doesn’t exactly end the long-going green vs blue bubble yet. Sending messages to Android users will still show a green bubble to iOS users, just that with the adoption of RCS, when sending texts on iMessage, now even Android users will be able to use SOME of the popular iMessage features that are mentioned above. However, the exclusivity will still be made prominent with a blue bubble when sending messages from an iOS to iOS device.

Essentially, Apple won’t be incorporating RCS into iMessage. Instead, RCS will be embraced as a separate messaging platform. iMessage remains the primary communication channel for iPhone users, and RCS will replace SMS and MMS. RCS will coexist with iMessage when accessible, while SMS and MMS will persist as fallback options.

This development follows Google’s recent appeal to the European Union (EU), urging Apple to discontinue the exclusive availability of iMessage on Apple devices and embrace the RCS messaging service—an encouragement Google has consistently emphasised. Over the years, Google has repeatedly criticised Apple for not adopting the RCS service. Collaborating with European network providers, Google co-signed a letter urging the EU to categorise iMessage as a “core” service, subject to the regulations of the Digital Markets Act.