Accept it, the default texting experience on Android is bad. Well, Google says they are “pausing” work on the smart messaging app to put all hands on deck on Android Messages.
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Google thinks it can succeed with Chat because of its Android Messages app, which is company’s default text message app.
Chat is seen as the successor to Google’s previous messaging solutions for Android.
The launch of Chat also makes the end of the road for Allo, the other real chatting app that Google has been pushing with so much zeal for some time now. Whether or not that means a Chat-supporting app will land on Windows 10 is unknown, but the door is open. Perhaps, users are not too fond of migrating and shuffling between similar kind of apps. However, Chat could be different it’s a fundamental replacement to the aging SMS standard that will be better for everyone.
Before you assume it’s another app lined up next to Google’s existing messaging apps, let me clarify that it’s not an app. It’ll include highlights like read receipts, having the capacity to see other individuals writing, full-resolution pictures and video, and group messaging.
According to Google, now millions of businesses, service providers and brands use SMS to communicate with their customers, whether they’re sending a bank fraud alert or a package delivery notification.
Google’s Chat is based on something known as rich communication services (RCS).
Timing for the roll-out of Chat will vary between mobile operators, and Chat messages will be sent with your data plan as opposed to your SMS plan. What it does not support, however, is end-to-end encryption. While Apple users have iMessage, those on Google’s OS haven’t had something as reliable or convenient to use. Chat history, contact information and shared media will be retrievable on the PC through your web browser as well. The GSMA estimates that RCS services can account for a $74 billion market by 2021.
It has been estimated that per MB, it’s cheaper to download data from the Hubble telescope than send a text.
Anil Sabharwal, Google’s lead on the project, told the Verge: “We don’t believe in taking the approach that Apple does [with iMessage]”. However, Google can address some of these issues with their RCS update, rolling it out to a handful of carriers and operating systems.
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Like WhatsApp and iMessage, Chat will also have a desktop interface for texting. Rather, it’s a newer communications standard which uses RCS to add features to your average text on Android Messages. Further, The Verge report has also outlined that Android has struggled to create a messaging platform which could compete with the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook messenger, however with the advent of this new technology things might really take a turn for Android Messaging.
