Google brings to Italy the RCS system that allows you to send SMS 2.0 with images and multimedia content. A challenge to WhatsApp
Google’s challenge to WhatsApp has also arrived in Italy: in these days the Mountain View company and the telephone operators are activating the RCS system also in the Bel Paese. What is it about? Acronym for Rich Communication Service, it is a new system that allows you to send the so-called SMS 2.0: text messages enriched with GIFs, images, videos and any type of multimedia content.
The arrival of the RCS system in Italy was highly anticipated and can open up very fascinating market opportunities: it is seamlessly integrated into the Google Messages app (the one usually used to receive SMS) and allows you to activate extra features, such as notification of the reading of a message. But that’s not all: SMS are sent over the data network and not the normal network. If you’re wondering if this is a “copy” of WhatsApp, the answer is “not really”. In Google’s plans, the Messages app will become the alter ego of the iMessage app present in the iOS world. Here’s how SMS 2.0 works and how to activate it on your Android smartphone.
What is the Rich Communication Service system
Active in the U.S. and some European countries for at least a couple of months, the RCS system is a new standard developed by Google to enrich the classic SMS. For the moment it is only active for Android smartphones and to work at its best there must be an agreement between mobile operators and the Mountain View company.
What are the characteristics of SMS 2.0? In many ways they are identical to the messages we send every day on apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage and Instagram’s Direct Messages. The only peculiarity is that they only work on the Google Messages app found on every Android smartphone (except those who can’t install Google’s mobile services). SMS 2.0 allows you to send multimedia content, create groups and check if others have read the chat messages.
Initially, Google was planning to launch a new messaging app with the RCS system inside, but in the end it opted for the simplest and most effective solution: enhancing the Messages app to the fullest. Google’s ultimate goal is to make Messages the messaging app used by all Android users, the same role as iMessage in the iPhone world.
How the RCS system and SMS 2.0 works
The functioning of SMS 2.0 and the Rich Communication Service is very simple: messages are not sent through the “normal” network, but using the Wi-Fi network or the data network of the phone card. This allows to enrich the messages with multimedia content, such as high quality images and GIFs. SMS 2.0 also has other features typical of messaging apps, such as the ability to create groups, see when another person is writing or check if the recipient has read the message.
How to activate SMS 2.0
There is no magic button that allows you to activate the RCS standard and start using SMS 2.0. The activation on the Messages app is taking place these days by the various phone operators and if you can’t use them yet, the only thing is to wait.
To make the check you need to open the Messages app, press on the three dots icon in the top right corner and then on Settings. From the new tab that will open, you need to select the “Chat Features” item. If you see the words “Chat features not available for this device” on the screen. The operator does not currently support this feature”, then it will mean that you have to wait a few more days. If, on the other hand, you see some settings on your smartphone that you can enable or disable, such as “Enable chat features” or “Send read confirmations”, then you can start using SMS 2.0, Google’s alternative to WhatsApp.
In some cases, the Messages app may ask you to use the new features via Jibe Mobile and keep the app connected to the data network or Wi-Fi.