Search giant Google creates new text messaging standard

Google plans to launch a new messenger “Chat” next year and finally abandon standard SMS text messages.

Today, Google has 4 instant messengers: Hangouts, Allo, Duo and Android Messages, and for different groups. And they are not compatible with each other. That’s why the company decided to create a technical hybrid of SMS, MMS and messenger. The main goal is to make Android Messages just as popular and take text communication to a new level.

Google has been trying for a long time and not entirely successfully to create an analogue of iMessage that is built-in and works by default, like SMS. 

To this day, the Android operating system uses standard SMS text messages. This format has a number of limitations, but the ability to support SMS with all generations of smartphones determines their demand.

The new Messages application, called “Chat”, offers a number of features and, in particular, sending high-quality photos without compression and text messages with minimal restrictions.

The new functions will work on the RCS platform “Universal Profile for Rich Communication Services” (“a universal profile for communication services with rich capabilities”), which is actively promoted as replacement of SMS. This involves moving away from the phone networks needed to carry SMS and towards data networks like Apple's iMessage. The cost of messages transmitted in this way will be within the data transfer volume provided for in the user's tariff plan. 

RCS will only be transmitted to devices that support the new standard; messages can also be delivered as SMS if the new messenger is not installed. In addition, Google is working on implementing RCS with a number of prominent mobile device vendors on the market, such as LG, Samsung, HTC and Huawei. Apple does not yet support the RCS format.

Chat will most likely become a set of additional functions. At the same time, it will be an operator service, and not a Google service, which implies compatibility at the service level. This also means a reduced level of protection due to the lack of end-to-end encryption, which prevents third parties from reading messages and other security features. The company plans that the new text message format will appear in the Android operating system next year.. However, for this it is necessary to agree on uniform principles of work with 50 operators and 12 manufacturers to guarantee the operation of the Chat application on different devices. 

Basically, Google is trying to change the rules of the text game on a global scale. 

According to https://www.theverge.com