Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Samsung just joined Google’s push to bring RCS to iPhone

Published Oct 9th, 2023 3:20PM EDT
Samsung's Galaxy S23, S23 Ultra, and S23 Plus.
Image: Samsung

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

It looks like Google is finally bringing in some new pushers for its continued campaign to push RCS on iPhone. The latest commercial begging to put RCS on iPhone actually comes from Samsung, and while it is only 20 seconds long, it tries very hard to pull at your heartstrings.

There are a lot of opinions out there about Google’s ongoing RCS push. While I personally believe Apple shouldn’t cave to Google’s RCS moves, others are on board with Google’s attempts to bring Apple and Android together a bit more seamlessly when it comes to messaging. However, Samsung’s new RCS ad does leave a bit of confusion in the air.

The ad is relatively simple, weighing in at just 20 seconds. The ad showcases a phone interface as someone texts another person named Juliet. It’s pretty clear where the company is going with this from there, but the ad doesn’t ever actually say that we need RCS on iPhone. Instead, Samsung’s new ad just makes mention of green bubbles, the notorious color given to non-iMessage messages received on an iPhone, and leaves the rest of it to the video’s title.

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is an old protocol that Google adopted after carriers pretty much abandoned it. In recent years, Google has been pushing hard for Apple to adopt RCS on the iPhone, and now that Samsung has joined the bid, it’s likely we’ll see even more ads like this popping up, as well as billboards, social media posts, and more.

Ultimately, though, it isn’t just Apple that Google needs to convince. Right now, Apple says that RCS just isn’t an important feature that iPhone users are asking for, and our own Chris Smith seems to agree, writing earlier this year that he doesn’t care about RCS on iPhone

If Google can convince iPhone users that they actually need RCS, it might become a more important feature for Apple to push. For now, though, ads like this latest Samsung RCS ad, and Google’s own attempts to get Apple’s attention will probably continue to go unnoticed by the iPhone manufacturer.

Josh Hawkins has been writing for over a decade, covering science, gaming, and tech culture. He also is a top-rated product reviewer with experience in extensively researched product comparisons, headphones, and gaming devices.

Whenever he isn’t busy writing about tech or gadgets, he can usually be found enjoying a new world in a video game, or tinkering with something on his computer.