Google celebrates 1 billion RCS customers with emoji-filled messaging options

November has been an enormous month for RCS — the cell messaging protocol championed by Google — and now, the corporate is capping it off with the announcement of a milestone and some festive new features. First, the quantity: in keeping with Google, over 1 billion month-to-month energetic customers are utilizing RCS in Google Messages. That’s large, contemplating assist was scarce only a handful of years in the past, although not totally stunning because it’s been the default messaging service on Android telephones for a number of years now.

As for the brand new messaging options, a few them would possibly sound acquainted to iOS customers. There’s a brand new characteristic that ties into your Google account to create a Contact Poster-like profile along with your identify and photograph. Google is including one thing referred to as Photomoji, which helps you to minimize individuals out of your pictures and use the pictures to react to messages as you’d with an emoji.

Apple provides one thing comparable in iOS 17, although it’s important to flip your photograph cutouts into stickers so as to add them to iMessage conversations. Based on an especially scientific examine of, like, 5 of my mates, this isn’t catching on in a short time.

Google Messages will even allow you to connect an emoji while you ship a voice message, which Google calls a “mood.” That’s a pleasant method to assist somebody get the tenor of your message at a look. Emoji shared in group chats or used as reactions will typically embody an animation, too. And in a little bit nod to the entire inexperienced bubble / blue bubble state of affairs, Google Messages will now allow you to change the colour of the chat bubbles on every of your conversations.

I spoke to Android messaging VP and GM Sanaz Ahari in regards to the new options and the place RCS is mostly, which in fact, means asking about Apple. There’s good motive to be enthusiastic about RCS on the iPhone as a result of — as Ahari aptly places it — “group chats are just really, really broken today between Android and iOS.” Apple’s dedication to supporting the RCS common profile 2.0 implies that picture and video sharing throughout platforms will get a lot better, however Ahari acknowledges that the two.0 spec doesn’t embody end-to-end encryption.

“We are actively working with the GSMA — and Apple is a member of the GSMA — to evolve the spec to include not only end-to-end encryption, but also a lot of features that aren’t in the RCS spec that we’re working on adding back to the spec.” Threaded replies, learn receipts, and reactions are a number of of these options which might be unlikely to be supported for iPhone customers as the usual exists immediately. “Overall, what we hope is that the modern messaging features and end-to-end encryption will be a reality cross-platform.”

That’s all a methods off, however within the meantime, Google’s new messaging options shall be trickling out to RCS customers on Android telephones. Today’s characteristic drop additionally contains some helpful sensible house integrations with Wear OS so you possibly can set your Google Home standing, set off a bunch of lights, or begin a routine out of your watch. It all rolls out beginning immediately, with the brand new messaging options debuting first in open beta.