When RCS was designed, carriers still programmed most of the phones, and if not, provisioning SMS messages would program generic vendor implementations on the phones. That's essentially what RCS still does, except now we have phone operating systems that let users freely install system applications.
The iPhone was unique in that it refused to let carriers customize its operating system. That's part of why Apple had to partner with a relatively obscure carrier on launch, while Motorola/Samsung/Nokia/Sony Ericsson/Android phones launched on random carriers all the time.
Many people still buy phones from their carriers which comes with all kinds of apps pre-installed, including carrier-branded SMS apps in many cases.
Everyone in their right mind would have made that assumption when the system was designed. Only some weirdoes at Apple and a few hard-core open source enthusiasts cared.
Of course, that doesn't mean that operating system vendors such as Apple and Google can't simply implement RCS and all the weird carrier quirks they need to deal with in their own apps anyway, and to make messaging available using an API. They already do that kind of stuff with SMS, MMS, location information, internet connectivity, and practically anything else the phone does. They just decided that they're not really gonna bother with an API for this specific trick your phone can do.
> When RCS was designed, carriers still programmed most of the phones
The past truly is a foreign country.
> Many people still buy phones from their carriers which comes with all kinds of apps pre-installed, including carrier-branded SMS apps in many cases.
You're joking, right? I've never seen this in Europe since the flip phone days. I thought we had left that in the past. Most people here buy their phones outright, but even when on a plan, they don't fill your phone with malware.
Nope, if you go out and buy a cheapish android phone from a carrier in the US today, it will have a ton of shit preinstalled that is carrier specific. Including sometimes messages, visual voicemail, etc.
Apple has basically had the balls to tell carriers to go fuck themselves and do it their way, and it's been a huge boon. Google still hasn't done this enough, IMO.
The iPhone was unique in that it refused to let carriers customize its operating system. That's part of why Apple had to partner with a relatively obscure carrier on launch, while Motorola/Samsung/Nokia/Sony Ericsson/Android phones launched on random carriers all the time.
Many people still buy phones from their carriers which comes with all kinds of apps pre-installed, including carrier-branded SMS apps in many cases.
Everyone in their right mind would have made that assumption when the system was designed. Only some weirdoes at Apple and a few hard-core open source enthusiasts cared.
Of course, that doesn't mean that operating system vendors such as Apple and Google can't simply implement RCS and all the weird carrier quirks they need to deal with in their own apps anyway, and to make messaging available using an API. They already do that kind of stuff with SMS, MMS, location information, internet connectivity, and practically anything else the phone does. They just decided that they're not really gonna bother with an API for this specific trick your phone can do.