So I tried Google Messages with RCS for a second time (for 10 days - 1st time for 7 days) and RCS sure doesn't seem to offer much to my messaging experience. While I can see a possible office/business environment use case; read receipts, typing indicators, book-length messages, group messaging, interactive messaging and end-to-end encryption (for those important messages to your fellow terrorists - or your lawyer after you are caught
), I really don't need or want any of these in my day-to-day messaging with family, friends and the odd business.
One of the primary reasons I heard as to why Google Messages with RCS is superior to my Textra SMS/MMS app is that I could send images of up to 100MB while I would be limited to 1MB or 2MB with Textra. Well, it appears that that isn't quite true as reported by Android Authority,
HERE. According to them, Google Messages is heavily compressing images sent with RCS and reducing their size by up to 98%. They further say that even with the
Send Photos Faster (by compressing them) toggle turned off in
Messages Settings, they still experienced a 93% compression rate for images. They say, with that amount of compression, Google Messages RCS isn't offering much better image quality than SMS at this point.
While many more people may use RCS in the future, especially with Apple coming on board, I wasn't able to find too many people or businesses that I text are using RCS at this juncture. Is that because it doesn't offer much that they need/want? Is it because of the cost (more data used)? Is it because the mobile carriers control the features and functionality of RCS? Is the tech too new?
What can I do in Textra that I can't do in Google Messages, with or without RCS? I can set individual ringtones for each contact, I can set individual theme styles for each contact, individual vibration patterns for each contact, I can customize and adjust themes, colours, text fonts, text size, text bubbles, emojis (if I really wanted to expand my emoji capacity and overuse them even more than I do now
), schedule when to send a message, perform "delay sends," copy and paste texts, and more. You can't customize a whole lot in Google Messages and my biggest complaints are that the text is too small and the text boxes/bubbles too monochromic for my tired, old eyes.
Google is going to have to do a lot better if they want me to use their messaging app. Until then, hello again my old and trusted friend, Textra!
What say you? Are you happy with Google Messages? What do you like about it? Am I missing something that would change my mind? Have you found a real world use for RCS in your day-to-day personal (not business) life?
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