Tim Cook, the CEO of tech titan Apple, outright dismissed the idea that the tech company should take strides to make iPhones far more compatible with devices that utilize the Android operating system.
As part of an evening event on Wednesday, the CEO fired back an answer to a question coming from LiQuan Hunt, a journalist with Vox Media, about allowing Rich Communication Services (RCS), a process that would replace standard SMS messages with a more in-depth texting system, onto the companies iPhone products.
“I don’t hear our users asking that we put a lot of energy in on that at this point,” answered Cook, who stands as the replacement for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the wake of his passing away back in 2011. “I would love to convert you to an iPhone.”
Apple held a strong 48% share of the smartphone market in America throughout the second quarter of 2022, as reported by data gathered by one research firm, Counterpoint, with Samsung, which makes use of Android in many of its products, dropping to second place with a still substantial 30% market share.
When Hunt pointed out that his mom was not able to watch the videos that he sends via text because of the forced incompatibility currently happening between RCS and iMessage, to which Cook answered: “Buy your mom an iPhone.”
Google, which is a commercial sponsor for the Android platform, has set up a new publicity campaign to fight Apple in order to pressure the market lead into accepting the RCS protocol. “It’s not about the color of the bubbles. It’s the blurry videos, broken group chats, missing read receipts and typing indicators, no texting over Wi-Fi, and more,” stated a webpage from Android states. “These problems exist because Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other.”
Cook’s comments take place just a few days after Apple kicked off the launch of four new iPhones and another set of three Apple watches– which includes the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and Apple Watch Ultra — as part of a press event. The new smartphones will let users place emergency calls in areas that do not have cell service by making use of satellite connections.
“It was a great day at Apple Park, introducing the world to products that are essential to our daily lives and that work seamlessly together,” stated Cook via a social media post on Wednesday.