To introduce RCS standard, Google had acquired Jibe Mobile in October last year. Back in February this year, the company joined hands with many global operators to speed up the availability of RCS on Android devices. A few days ago, Google started making the Rich Communication Service (RCS) for the selected users of Google Messenger. The search giant has now announced that it has partnered with U.S. carrier Sprint to make the RCS messaging available for the Android users.
Google posted regarding this in its official blog:
This will bring enhanced features including group chat, high-res photo sharing, read receipts, and more to the standard messaging experience on Android. Sprint subscribers will have their standard SMS experience upgraded through the Messenger app for Android devices, developed by Google. The service will be powered by the Jibe RCS cloud from Google.
Every new Android device from Sprint will come with the Messenger as default SMS and RCS messaging app from 2017. For those customers who are using LG and Nexus Smartphones, an update will help you avail this feature. And for other Android device users, you can download the Messenger app from Google PlayStore.
The company has promised that it is planning to expand the service with other partners in the coming months.