Not one to shy away from a brand battle, Google appear to be taking on Apple with their semi-new Messaging app.
The plan appears to be to convince users to switch from other messaging platforms, in particular iMessage, in favor of Google’s Messaging service.
A whole range of updates came to the Google Messaging app. You can now add stars to messages sent by your friends as well as replies to individual messages.
Google have also been very vocal about RCS technology, which is seen by many to be a potential replacement to the SMS technology.
RCS technology allows more functionality in messaging, such as multimedia attachments, encryption, and more.
RCS works over Wi-Fi, whereas SMS works over signal. Since many users globally are perpetually connected to the internet, this is leading many companies to pushing for RCS to become the standard technology for messaging services.
Why Are Google Pushing for a Messaging Platform Now?
Facebook and Apple have long been the frontrunners in the instant messaging space, but Google clearly desire a piece of the pie.
By having an instant messaging service that users use daily, brands can ensure that they stay in the public consciousness and build up trust with their audience.
These updates already exist on other instant messaging services, so it wouldn’t have been too difficult for Google to implement these changes on their own instant messaging platform. In time, users may see more innovative ideas coming from Google for their messaging platform, but for now they’re sticking with tried-and-tested features that users are already known to respond positively to.
SMS has been the leading texting service for decades, by this point, but you may be wondering whether RCS can take over?
A lot of the big tech corporations seem to think so, which is why you’ll see so many RCS changes being made to messaging platforms. Typically, new platforms and services don’t bother with SMS, so it’s certainly an antiquated piece of technology that looks to be getting phased out in society.
Time will tell whether Google Messaging picks up any users in light of these updates, and indeed whether Google can stick to the project long enough to see if it succeeds.