 "Google has started rolling out its version of iMessage for users in the US")
Google has rolled out the answer to iMessage called Chat. The new messaging platform by Android is now available for all users in the US. Currently, its unknown when Chat will be rolled out for users in other markets. Chat has a bunch of feature that are similar to the ones seen on Apple’s iMessage. Android users on Chat will now be have read receipts. They will also see an ellipsis symbol when someone on the other side of the chat is typing. Chat will also add the ability to send higher-resolution images and videos. [caption id=“attachment_6914101” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Android Message[/caption] In a tweet last week, Sanaz Ahari, Google’s product management director said that people will need to update both their Messages app and carrier services to receive the new tools.
Hi everyone! RCS is now available to all users in US as of Monday. Make sure to update both Messages and Carrier Services.
— Sanaz (@sanazahari) December 12, 2019
Chat has been available for users in UK, France, and Mexico since June this year.
Chat features are available in France, Mexico, the UK, the US & across multiple carriers globally. We are working on bringing chat features broadly to more regions, carriers & other messaging apps (e.g. Samsung Messages) For more information, see our FAQ: https://t.co/icfk0QDgJw
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) December 14, 2019
Similar to iMessage, Chat also gives Android users the option to opt in or out of the service. All Messages users in the US will be able to use the new Chat features with any phone that has **Rich Communications Services** (RCS, a successor to SMS) enabled. Notably, though, since Chat is based on RCS, it’s not entirely like iMessage, in the sense that RCS doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption. There is also a limitation to what all networks can connect to RCS.
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