Google’s the main backer but it’s technically an open standard. Apple is implementing support in iOS 18 too, reluctantly. Google also has non-standard extensions on top of it like e2e encryption. I wish they would standardize it but that’s a pretty important feature and maybe it’s ok that they brought it out before it could become standard.
Writing it off as a fad is rather ignorant. Sure there’s a lot of hype and bullshit surrounding AI, but it already has strong use cases and earns a profit for the companies involved. It’s still the early years for the tech too, so it is reasonable to expect it to improve in the coming years, both in terms of accuracy and performance.
I don’t disagree with the idea that AI is being shoved into software without much purpose or thought, but that’s got little to do with whether it is here to stay or not. It’s here to stay for its many practical uses, be it new personal assistants like what Apple has shown off with Siri, text summarization like what is being added to browsers, rephrasing/tone checking like what is being added to office software, or code completion and debugging like what is being added to code editors. These applications have proved their worth, and even if some applications are just because hype, these applications are here to stay.
We’re already seeing a slight leveling off compared to what we had previously. Right now there is a strong focus on optimization, getting models that can run on-device without losing too much quality. This will both help make LLMs sustainable financially and energy-wise, as well as mitigate the privacy and security concerns inherent to the first wave of cloud-based LLMs.
Google Messages might auto-update your MMS chats to RCS (APK teardown) (www.androidauthority.com)
In our APK teardown, we discovered strings of code that suggest Google Messages will automatically upgrade MMS chats to RCS.
Why is Google launching the Pixel 9 so early? (9to5google.com)