If you’re buying a high-end Samsung or iPhone device, there’s little to choose between. Android OS is always in the spotlight. But now, Google is slowly changing that too, causing serious anger among users…
Google’s latest update is just like the iPhone
getty
Below is the update for 3/3. Article first published on 3/1.
Android is changing. This year, there’s been a focus on AI upgrades of existing apps, as well as security crackdowns on risky apps and the third-party app store ecosystem. And later this year, Apple’s reluctant RCS concession will finally bring an update to text messaging between Android and iPhone.
One of the themes here is control. Apple has exercised this to a high degree on its own ecosystem, while Google has traditionally not exercised it through her Android. But that is changing. Google is focusing on the walled garden elements of the “Play” ecosystem, including additional protection available to its huge user base.
Here we see the latest example of Google’s “Play” style Android becoming more and more like the iPhone. According to the report, users who take their rooted devices outside their semi-walled gardens will no longer be able to use RCS.
As explained in a Reddit thread highlighting this issue, “As of 2024, Google is secretly blocking RCS messages on rooted Android devices. Even if you only send RCS text messages, you are at risk of being secretly shadowbanned.”
A Google spokesperson told me, “Ensuring that message publishing/receiving devices follow operational measures defined in the RCS standard is one way Google Messages protects against spam and abuse.” “In the fight against spammers and scammers, we are doing the following: Consider different metrics. ”
It is an unpopular behavior among those affected. “Shadow banning is one of the most classic, Orwellian tools in the censorship toolbox,” the original poster complained on Reddit. Google is currently refusing your communications entirely. ”
“A large amount of RCS spam is generated by automation and typically relies on changes to the sending device,” a Google spokesperson explained. “Our anti-spam technology is constantly evolving in response to changes in spammer behavior. We continue to find ways to prevent spam and fraud while minimizing the number of users affected. I’ll go.”
Avoiding problems can be difficult. According to another poster on Reddit, “I have a rooted Pixel 7 Pro and this morning RCS broke (again). What’s worse is that RCS is broken so other People’s phones may not magically switch to SMS. They just don’t receive text messages from people.”
The poster explained the update as follows: Application Google,” which perfectly sums up what we’re seeing here. The old philosophy of user first, buyer beware is rapidly changing, and the latest AI upgrades will give Google more control than ever before. This not only affects users, but also his Android OEMs, including Samsung, which has to walk Google’s tightrope when driving its own innovations.
There is a workaround that seems to work, at least for now.according to 9to5Google“Those familiar enough with rooting have found a simple enough fix that involves bypassing the safety feature (Play Integrity API) that appears to be responsible for preventing RCS access.”
However, it is difficult to determine whether the workaround will last. Another poster on Reddit suggested there may be a cat-and-mouse game going on behind the scenes as Google tightens its belt. “For the last few weeks people have been fighting hard about play integrity API/device integrity. It’s been relatively easy to get around for the past few years. Now all of a sudden things seem to be breaking more quickly. and began to resist the same workarounds that have worked for years.”
And while that poster and others call this Orwellian, the flip side of the coin is that most Android users within Google’s ecosystem enjoy the same benefits that iPhone users enjoy. They want roughly the same level of security and protection. So we don’t expect this kind of tightening to come back anytime soon.
While it makes sense to block functionality in banking apps and wallets, blocking RCS is even more unpopular. “This is unethical [and] Despicable,” lamented the original Reddit poster. “We’re happy to make concessions on banking apps, but having communications blocked is completely insane.”
Update 3/1: This crackdown on RCS isn’t the only change in Android toward the evolution of the iPhone that we’ve seen this week. And the other one seems even more blatant. Google appears to be borrowing one of Apple’s recent flagship innovations into its own devices, and now it’s coming to the device.
Google has begun updating its Pixel smartphones with the Satellite SOS feature found in Apple devices starting with the iPhone 14. As explained in 9to5Google“Today on your Pixel smartphone.[設定]>[安全性と緊急事態]If you move to , you’re more likely to see “Satellite SOS” between Emergency SOS and Car Collision Detection. Google apparently made a mistake and broadly rolled out this setting to virtually all Pixel devices through a recent update to Adaptive Connectivity Services. ”
upon iPhone“Emergency SOS via satellite can help you connect to emergency services in exceptional situations when no other means of contacting emergency services are available. Even if you call or text emergency services, you cannot use your mobile phone. If your iPhone can’t connect because you’re in a location with no Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi coverage, your iPhone will try to connect via satellite.”
But Google doesn’t have any of that in place yet. This feature appears to be pre-release and is not yet functional. But based on some of the links shared, it appears there may be an optional search and rescue plan available from Garmin that works in conjunction with the satellite SOS feature.
All in all, while Apple gears up to catch up with iOS 18, this kind of feature level-up is in line with the shared focus on generative AI that Google and Samsung are accelerating development of. , meaning each of these OEMs’ flagship devices will be better. Features and performance are getting closer and closer. And while Satellite SOS will be useful for some Android users, the AI differentiation that Apple will eventually reveal when it becomes available will be more important.
This was the theme of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week, and Apple was a notable absentee. As evidenced by the Barcelona rebrand, Samsung is trying hard to differentiate itself with Galaxy AI, but it will be hard to beat Apple and Google. This is especially true given that Samsung relies on his Google for its core OS, at least for now.
2024 is shaping up to be a remarkable year for a variety of reasons…
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