Google has blocked anyone’s ability to make an RCS app by making the API a system-level API. In order to make an RCS app, you must make an Android device. So Samsung could make one and bundle it with their phones, but Textra can’t make one and make it available on the Play Store.
Ah ok, other replies mentioned API access in relation to servers so I misunderstood the issue. It looks like that API is hardlocked to Google (and Samsung?) devices. Thanks for the info
Samsung was just an example. I have been out of the Android development game for a while now, so my information might be outdated, but back when I worked for an android device maker (Android 5 timeframe), any Android device maker could use the system level APIs. You just needed to sign your app the the same keys your Android source code was compiled with.
Yeah I was pulling Samsung from an article I found discussing the issue, not specifically your comment. It said that those system APIs only responded to Google or Samsung made apps, but that was from like 2021 tbf
Sure, but isn’t that just complaining that Google runs the largest implementation of RCS? It would’ve been great if this was handled by carriers, but they never would pick up the task so Google just did it inhouse. I think if they hadn’t rcs would just be dead by now (for better or worse)
It’s the only app that has RCS. I don’t use it, but I think it’s kind of terrible that Google has a monopoly on the format.
They don’t, RCS is open.
It’s terrible that no one else has decided to make an rcs app? That’s not really under googles control
Google has blocked anyone’s ability to make an RCS app by making the API a system-level API. In order to make an RCS app, you must make an Android device. So Samsung could make one and bundle it with their phones, but Textra can’t make one and make it available on the Play Store.
Ah ok, other replies mentioned API access in relation to servers so I misunderstood the issue. It looks like that API is hardlocked to Google (and Samsung?) devices. Thanks for the info
Samsung was just an example. I have been out of the Android development game for a while now, so my information might be outdated, but back when I worked for an android device maker (Android 5 timeframe), any Android device maker could use the system level APIs. You just needed to sign your app the the same keys your Android source code was compiled with.
Yeah I was pulling Samsung from an article I found discussing the issue, not specifically your comment. It said that those system APIs only responded to Google or Samsung made apps, but that was from like 2021 tbf
They won’t open the api. Anyone else who tries to make one would be starting from scratch. Including with a server
Sure, but isn’t that just complaining that Google runs the largest implementation of RCS? It would’ve been great if this was handled by carriers, but they never would pick up the task so Google just did it inhouse. I think if they hadn’t rcs would just be dead by now (for better or worse)
It’s because Google hasn’t allowed anyone else access to the RCS API, actually.
Google doesn’t open their own RCS API to the public. Nobody is stopping you from running your own server and service so far as I can tell