But despite Google's campaign, the chances of Apple supporting RCS appear bleak. RCS now has the support of the three major US carriers with Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T committing to make Google's Messages app the default on Android phones sold by the carriers. These include typing indicators, encryption and higher-quality photo and video sharing. Google's Messages app is now the default texting app for most Android phones, and the RCS standard allows for features that are similar to Apple's iMessage without requiring a specific type of phone or setting up a third-party texting app. While RCS-powered texting is currently only available on Android phones, Google reported in May that there are now half a billion people actively using the standard in its Messages app.
