At the Android show leading up to Google I/O, Google provided a brief update on the adoption of the RCS (Rich Communication Services) protocol on Tuesday. This is an upgrade to SMS that offers high-resolution photos and videos, typing indicators, receipt reading, group chat improvements and more. The company shared that messaging standards support over 1 billion messages per day in the US.
The metric is based on the average over the last 28 days, Google noted.
As Google fought for years to adopt RCS support on iOS, the statistics were notable, allowing better communication between Android devices and Apple devices. Previously, iPhone users who received texts from friends on Android had to handle blurry videos and images, and could not easily manage group chats when lush friends joined. Unlike iMessage, group chats with Android users were not able to rename, add or remove people, and were unable to close when needed. Emoji responses also didn't work properly, so instead of directly displaying emoji responses, it becomes an annoying text that lets you know how Android users respond.
This changed with the fall 2024 launch of IOS 18, when Apple finally added RCS support to the messaging app. Although the features have been upgraded, Apple has shown RCS chat as a green bubble and hopes to keep the stigma of being an Android user unharmed. This is especially important among the US youth where the demand for blue foam solidifies the iPhone as the most popular device for teens.
Surprisingly, Google didn't share other statistics around RC, as it details more specifically the number of users and career support.