“It’s time for Apple to fix texting. Blurry videos, janky group chats, lack of encryption and more. Texting between iPhones and Android phones is poor because Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards,” Android states on its official website.
Most people, whether they have an iPhone, an Android, or a different type of phone are aware of these compatibility issues between Apple and Android with group chats, green messages, picture and video quality and overall technological incompatibility. Apple has also been sued by the government for purposely making this more difficult for users.
“There are a lot of aspects on iPhone that you can’t do on Android,” said Wisdom Lambkins, a Sophomore in QUEST who has an iPhone.
“It’s annoying because I can’t see if they read my message or not, you can’t ‘like’ messages and it makes group chats all weird,” added Emma Flores, a Sophomore in PEACE who also has an iPhone.
This has been an ongoing problem and debate for both Android and iPhone users. Apple and Android have been two of the most popular software companies for mobile phones for years, but their compatibility isn’t the best, therefore many iPhone and Android users alike are upset about this issue. Android created the hashtag #GetTheMessage to encourage Apple to attempt to fix this problem.
The main issue is that Apple’s software downgrades text messages into SMS and MMS messages, which causes all the main messaging problems. For Apple to fix this, they would have to change the text messages to more modern technology called RCS, which Android has already implemented.
RCS stands for “Rich Communication Services” according to Google Services. This is the technology that’s presented during iPhone to iPhone texting. RCS provides read receipts, shows you when someone is typing, text over mobile data as well as WiFi and sends high resolution photos and videos.
If Apple switched to RCS messaging, it would solve many of the pronounced issues between the two services and make texting more convenient for both iPhone and Android users.
This is why Android can’t fix this problem themselves because they’ve already updated their technology to RCS to attempt to fix the problem, but because Apple still has the outdated technology, they remain incompatible until then.
Apple has stayed neutral on this topic and hasn’t responded to Android’s callouts to the company, therefore it’s unknown whether Apple is going to change the message encryption.
“I have an iPhone because it was efficient and it was popular,” stated Mr. Creamer, who teaches SEGA Algebra 2 and AP Computer Science. “But I’m thinking of switching to Android because it’s harder to score [code] and some of my students have it [an Android] and it’s easier.” Reasons such as these are the cause of Apple getting sued by the government.
In Mar. 2024, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple under the Sherman Act for unfair practices or financial power, according to an article from the LA Times. Part of this is how Apple is purposely making it harder to leave the service and switch to a different company for its own profits.
The lawsuit would affect the compatibility issue with Android because the lawsuit also has to do with Apple limiting compatibility with other tech services such as Android. If the Department of Justice wins this lawsuit, it could benefit Android users by legally forcing Apple to switch to RCS messaging and solve the issue.
Regardless, the battle between Android and Apple messaging still remains until Apple fixes this issue and brings peace over texting to both iPhone and Android users.
Mason Vanderburg • May 21, 2024 at 1:15 pm
I thought this article was interesting because it provides both a social and a technological perspective on this issue. I think the informative parts about this article like RCS and MMS vs SMS are important to know, but I think the social aspects of this divide are just as interesting. I have heard a lot of different reasons about why Apple has yet to switch to the industry standards of messaging, but the most interesting theory is that Apple is attempting to keep users from switching to other phone makers by creating a seamless environment with features like FaceTime and AirDrop that only work with other iPhones. While this might be an effective business strategy, I think that it’s unethical to force loyalty in this manner and it resembles monopolistic business practices. Overall, this article is very well written and brings up an important issue that is often misunderstood and overlooked.
Brandon Janney • May 21, 2024 at 11:50 am
On May 6, 2024, Rose Varley wrote an article titled “Android vs. Apple Compatibility”.In the article they bring up the issue of how apple devices don’t adopt modern digital ways of encrypted communication and messaging which leads to their often buggy software, blurry images, and incomplete call setups. Many shared their concerns with how apple and android devices interact with each other. Issues of not knowing when someone views your texts, lack of the ability to like, and also reply to certain pictures and text, are a few of the concerns people
have. Apple has even been sued by the government for their blatant steps taken to impede upon others ways of communicating. I personally have an Iphone, but however I don’t really have an issue with messaging or calling family members who own androids, though I have heard of these issues with some of my friends. In the end it ultimately is left to future actions Apple will decide to take.
Zoe Huynh • May 21, 2024 at 11:14 am
This article had information about some of the differences between Android phones and Apple iPhones. It said that Apple was sued by the government because they made certain things more inconvenient for Android and Apple users. The article also had some quotes from students about the topic. It was interesting to read about other people’s opinions and thoughts about Android and Apple communication. I also learned about what RCS is from this article. RCS is short for “Rich Communication Services.” RCS technology shows read receipts and shows you when someone is typing, among other things. RCS is in iPhone to iPhone texting, but not in iPhone to Android. Not having RCS in iPhone to Android texting makes things inconvenient for both users, but Apple still hasn’t changed anything. This article also informs readers about a lawsuit that was filed against Apple in March of this year. If Apple loses the lawsuit, it could benefit Android users because Apple could be legally forced to switch to RCS messaging.
Kylie Montiel • May 20, 2024 at 1:37 pm
This article was organized very well, making sure to explain the root problem of how Apple needs to update iPhone software before addressing more conflicts surrounding it. Her explanation of the complaints against incompatible software between iPhone and Androids allow a reader with little knowledge about this topic to better understand what she is promoting. She also helps her reader to further understand her topic by providing a picture which depicts an iPhone user messaging an Android user. This helps the reader to better understand her topic since it is a common experience among teenagers. Varley also helps her reader to understand the significance of this topic by demonstrating the frustrations of both of these sides. For example, she explains how Apple has been sued for complicating the compatibility of both types of phones. Overall, this article explained the topic very well to the speaker.
Suzanna Gonzalez • May 20, 2024 at 9:15 am
I enjoyed reading this article because of how factual it is about Android and Apple. I use an Apple because that’s just what my family has always used, and I understand the struggle. Whenever I’m in a conversation with an Android it turns green compared to the normal blue that the texts are when texting another Apple phone. I had never known what the actual problem was with Apple and Android and thought it was because of the different phone types. But reading this helps me understand the problem, and how Apple refuses to change.
Recently I had a problem with texting an Android user, I asked them to send a photo of a routine that we had for colorguard. But when the video was sent, the quality was horrible along with the audio being distorted. People should not have to deal with these problems simply because the phone company refuses to adjust. I’m really glad I read this article, it helped shed light on the problem with cross-texting in Apples and Androids.