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Tim Cook says 'buy your mom an iPhone' when asked about RCS (Updated)
- Tim Cook says Apple users aren’t keen on getting RCS messaging support on iPhones.
- He told a person at a conference to get their mom an iPhone to solve the green bubble problem.
- Google’s Android SVP says you shouldn’t have to do so.
Update: September 8, 2022 (4:51 AM ET): Google’s SVP of Android Hiroshi Lockheimer has responded to the Apple CEO’s comments about RCS. He says people shouldn’t have to buy their mom’s new iPhones just to send photos and videos. You can see Lockheimer’s tweet below and read what Tim Cook said about RCS support on iMessage in the original article below.
It’s clear why Apple is opposing interoperability. But people should be able to send high quality videos and photos to their mom without having to buy her a new phone. #GetTheMessage https://t.co/j93wQRSqi6— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) September 8, 2022
Original article: September 8, 2022 (12:55 AM ET): Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the 2022 Code Conference to say a few words about RCS support in iMessage. Answering a question from an audience member during a panel discussion with Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs, Cook said Apple users aren’t keen on getting RCS support on the iPhone.
As reported by The Verge, the question asked by the audience member was in the context of improving text-based communication between iPhone and Android users. Google has been asking Apple to implement RCS for a while and recently attacked the company by making an entire website dedicated to the cause. Unfortunately for Google, RCS has many problems and is too little too late in the chatting game.
Cook’s exact response to the question about RCS on iPhones was as follows:
I don’t hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy on that at this point.
His response to the questioner was “buy your mom an iPhone” to solve the green bubble problem. Interestingly, the Apple CEO said RCS is not a priority “at this point.” So it looks like he didn’t completely dismiss the possibility of RCS support on iPhones in the future.