Tim Cook Shoots Down Idea of iOS Adopting RCS Messages: 'Buy Your Mom an iPhone'

Apple CEO Tim Cook has shot down the idea of iOS adopting RCS messaging, a format that would make it significantly easier for iPhone and Android users to send high-quality messages, videos, and photos to each other within the Messages app on iOS.

tim cook data privacy day
During a panel at Kara Swisher's final Code Conference yesterday, Cook was asked why iOS has not yet adopted support for the ‌RCS‌ standard and how Steve Jobs would feel about it (via The Verge), despite repeated calls from the industry for the company to do so. "I don't hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy in on that at this point," Cook said in response to the question.

The lack of ‌RCS‌ support on iOS makes it more difficult for iOS and Android users to communicate, forcing them to in some cases use third-party messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram. The reporter who asked the question pushed Cook on his response, saying he and his mother find it difficult to send photos and videos to each other because she uses an Android device while they use an ‌iPhone‌. "Buy your mom an ‌iPhone‌," Cook told the reporter who posed the situation.

Android has supported and led the industry in adopting RCS, while Apple has kept only iMessage and the SMS standard available on the ‌iPhone‌. Google recently started a public campaign in an attempt to convince Apple to adopt ‌RCS‌, but Cook's recent comments show Apple is not likely to budge anytime soon.

As noted by The Verge, emails from the Epic Games vs. Apple trial revealed that Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said that bringing iMessage to Android and making it easier for the two platforms to communicate would "simply serve to remove [an] obstacle to ‌iPhone‌ families giving their kids Android phones."

Top Rated Comments

izyreal Avatar
20 months ago
"Buy your mom an iPhone"
Wow, maybe his mom has an opinion of her own about which phone she wants. Apple is so arrogant sometimes, and it clearly starts at the top :rolleyes:
Score: 100 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxray Avatar
20 months ago
This is anticompetitive. I get it, Apple is a business and has a big interest in not doing it. But it’s bad for the consumer.
Score: 67 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fel10 Avatar
20 months ago
Damn, talk about an egotistical response. People here will praise Tim but “buy your mom an iPhone” sounds so unprofessional and obnoxious.
Score: 66 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shanghaichica Avatar
20 months ago
It’s not Apple’s fault that Google messed about for years jumping from one messenger app to another and didn’t come up with anything good. Now they want Apple to bend over backwards to bail them out.
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boss.king Avatar
20 months ago
So, just leave your users with a garbage experience in the hopes that we pressure other people to buy iPhones? Yeah, how about you **** off with that line of thinking, Tim.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alex2792 Avatar
20 months ago
Apple hates industry standards so the chances of them doing anything pro consumer without being forced by regulators are slim to none. They're still using the stupid lighting port in order to keep selling 10 cent cables for $30 a pop.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
iPhone 15 General Feature Green

Apple Says These New iOS Features Are Coming Later This Year

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:45 am PDT by
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

Seven Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday March 19, 2024 5:20 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
maxresdefault

iOS 18 Rumored to Feature 'More Customizable' Home Screen

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:10 am PDT by
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
combine images

Top Stories: iOS 18's Generative AI Features to Rely on Google?, Latest on New iPads, and More

Saturday March 23, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...