China has used all its weight to force Apple to adopt the RCS standard, the successor to SMS, in its iMessage application.
On November 16, 2023, Apple announced its intention to support the RCS standard during the year 2024. This sudden decision was a real surprise for observers of the tech world, as the Californian manufacturer has for a long time ignored this new communication protocol, even despised by Tim Cook and his teams. We might have thought then that the brand’s turnaround was due to the tightening of European rules, with the adoption next March of the Digital Markets Act, but today we learn that another country, and not the least , would be the cause of this sudden decision.
A surprise decision that would be taken to satisfy the Chinese government
As a reminder, RCS is a communication standard which aims to replace SMS on smartphones. RCS allows, among other things, to create group conversations and send high-resolution multimedia files (photos, videos). Google supports RCS through Android, and has not hesitated to regularly attack Apple by encouraging iPhone users to take up their pens to demand the integration of the standard in the iMessage application.
After years of indifference and attempts at subtraction, Tim Cook and his teams finally changed their tune and announced support for RCS during the year 2024. If the reason for this change was never been communicated, many thought that Apple no longer had a choice and had to comply with the new regulations imposed by the European DMA.
However, according to blogger John Gruber, always well informed about Apple news, it was in fact China that made the American manufacturer bend and made the arrival of RCS on the iPhone possible.
An obligation for Apple to maintain its iPhone sales
“ I can’t say for sure, alas, but after spending the last few months periodically poking around trees populated with small birds, I have some good news for fans of coercive government regulation. Apple’s hand has effectively been forced. But by China, not by the EU », writes Gruber on his site Daring Fireball.
According to him, the Chinese government and major local operators would now require RCS support on all new 5G smartphones that are available in the country. China also pays little attention to the non-encryption by default of RCS communications, recalls John Gruber with a touch of irony.
Apple, for its part, would have liked to ignore any other messaging protocol, with or without encryption, and continue to rely on its own proprietary solution. However, by ignoring the RCS, Apple would have had to sit on the juicy Chinese market. Although iPhone sales are down slightly in the country, they still represent millions of copies sold each year.
Apple is therefore making a new concession on the security and protection of the privacy of its customers to preserve its sales volumes and its margins, even if the decision to adopt RCS has also been positively received by many users, who will soon communicate more easily with loved ones on Android.
Source : 9to5Mac
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