Apple Inc.’s AAPL decision to introduce RCS support to iMessage in 2024 is a move that appears to be influenced more by China than Europe, challenging previous assumptions.
What Happened: A new report by John Gruber’s Daring Fireball suggests that Apple’s decision to support the RCS messaging standard in iMessage was not due to European pressure. Instead, China seems to have played a crucial role in this decision.
Apple’s iPhones are also under pressure in China, which could have contributed to the pressure on Cupertino.
Gruber dismissed the notion that the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act swayed Apple’s decision. He emphasized that Apple was not deemed a “gatekeeper” under the Act, meaning Europe would not compel Apple to permit third-party apps to utilize iMessage services.
Gruber also indicated that the sequence of events did not support the European influence theory. He pointed out that leaks from September showed that iMessage was not considered a gatekeeper before Apple’s RCS confirmation in November.
Gruber proposed that China may have been the catalyst behind Apple’s shift in stance. He observed that Chinese carriers have backed RCS for years and that the Chinese government started to mandate RCS support for new 5G devices to be certified in the country in 2023.
Despite Apple’s initial resistance to support RCS due to its lack of encryption, Gruber inferred that the influence of China’s government likely enforced the change.
Why It Matters: Apple’s decision to support RCS in 2024 was initially attributed to EU pressure. However, the recent revelations suggest a different story.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act, expected to impact messaging apps significantly, led to speculations about Apple opening up iMessage to third-party chats.
However, the timeline of events and Apple’s non-gatekeeper status under the Act contradict this theory, pointing instead to China’s influence as the driving force behind Apple’s RCS support decision.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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