Today’s launch of iOS 18 will bring significant security and convenience improvements for iPhone users who text with Android users. Apple’s decision to support RCS (Rich Communications Services) will enhance these cross-platform conversations with features like encryption in transit, typing indicators, and better-quality multimedia. However, one group will still be left behind: Google Voice users.
Google Voice, a free VoIP service offering a second phone number, already has a poor messaging experience. With the rise of RCS, it will fall even further behind. As Google pointed out in a 2022 post, Google Voice lacks read receipts, typing indicators, and any encryption for SMS and MMS, making it insecure compared to modern messaging standards. Despite this, Google Voice’s messaging system has remained unchanged, stuck with features from 2013.
Apple’s RCS implementation, while a step forward, still won’t match the full capabilities Android users have, as iPhone-to-Android RCS chats will encrypt messages in transit but not end-to-end. For full security, users will need apps like Signal or WhatsApp. Apple’s iMessage remains more advanced but is not available on competing platforms, further highlighting the gap between messaging systems.
Meanwhile, Google Voice not only sends unencrypted messages but also lacks features like tapback emojis, which are displayed as separate messages. Even though Google acknowledged the need for updates in 2022, nothing has changed. Google Voice continues to lag behind, and with no clear explanation or progress, it remains stuck with outdated features.
In short, Google Voice messaging remains outdated and far behind both Android and iOS.
