Technologies

Why Apple Adding RCS Won’t Change Blue Bubble, Green Bubble Drama

Commentary: Apple and Google will likely find new ways to fight for texting.

Back in 2003, Apple’s then-CEO Steve Jobs showed a slide declaring that «Hell froze over» before announcing that the company’s iTunes software was debuting on Windows, opening up a once-exclusive Mac feature to a much wider audience. Twenty years later and you could say Apple’s frozen Hell over once again, this time by announcing that its iPhone will soon support the RCS texting standard — a move that will likely improve how texts send and receive between the iPhone and Android phones.

While we don’t yet know the true extent that Apple will support RCS beyond a statement that it will provide better «interoperability» when compared to SMS and MMS, Apple’s already made it clear that RCS texting will co-exist with its iMessage service. That means Apple will likely continue to differentiate between texts sent between its devices and texts sent to non-Apple devices like an Android phone or a basic phone. In fact, Apple did confirm to 9to5Mac that — at minimum — green bubbles will still be used to label a text that’s sent over RCS. While on a technical level that will continue to label who’s using an iPhone and who isn’t during texting, that could also continue a digital divide in countries like the US where iMessage is particularly dominant.

It’s also likely that we will continue to see plenty of features remain exclusive to either Apple’s iMessage or Google’s own Messages app, even if both companies are going to agree to support the RCS standard. While RCS itself has more bandwidth to support features like typing indicators and high-quality photo sharing, how that will be displayed when sending texts between the iPhone and an Android phone is still very much in the air.

However there is room to celebrate. Apple adopting RCS is likely to lead to substantially more investment into the texting standard, especially when compared to antiquated SMS and MMS messages that have remained largely the same over the past 20 years. The Qi wireless charging standard, for instance, received a big boost when Apple started supporting it with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, with Qi2 now set to bring faster magnetic wireless charging to future Android phones. But it’s still probably a good idea to limit expectations, as RCS inclusion might not displace iMessage anytime soon.

Apple and Google have exclusives, and RCS doesn’t mean they’ll be shared

Many of Apple’s best iMessage features aren’t restricted to messaging, even if blue bubble chats are the most common place that they are used. These include iOS 17’s Stickers – which allow you to make GIF-like images that can be «stuck» onto a text and decorative Contact Posters that can be automatically shared with your contacts should you choose. That’s along with app integrations where developers can let people over iMessage play games together, send flight info, exchange payments or include even more emojis.

Google has also invested heavily into its Messages app, often touting new features alongside its campaign over the last several years to get Apple to adopt RCS. This has included features like Magic Compose that use AI to generate text drafts, text scheduling and — perhaps most importantly — its own encryption standard for message privacy.

Even though Google Messages may use the RCS standard to employ many of these features and encryption, that has not meant the features themselves are built directly into RCS. For instance, Apple has also told 9to5Mac that it will not use the same encryption that Google uses in its Messages app, and will instead opt to work with the GSMA organization to improve the encryption standard that’s included within RCS.

Google’s own statement appears to acknowledge the upcoming divide, with the company «welcoming Apple’s participation» while looking forward to «working with them to implement this on iOS in a way that works well for everyone.»

But even if Apple and Google find a way to share typing indicators and other modern features over RCS, both companies are still going to be rivals in the smartphone market. Expect both to continue to find ways to tout messaging features that will remain exclusive to iOS or Android, and for it to remain quite noticeable when those features are not easily shared from an iPhone to an Android, or vice-versa.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 closed with WhatsApp open on the cover screen

What about WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and other services

Even as Apple and Google begin working together on the RCS standard, it’s quite likely that you’ll still want to use other constantly evolving chat apps. Since the RCS standard still needs to work to improve built-in features like encryption, services like WhatsApp, Signal and Facebook Messenger may still be more convenient for many conversations.

For instance, last year Apple opened up FaceTime by allowing users to invite participants to a call using a web browser link. This allows for people on Android or Windows to join a FaceTime call over a web browser. But it simply doesn’t have the same inherent ease of use as a native app on those platforms. At times when I’ve tested FaceTime over a web browser, participants logging in over a web browser sometimes have connection issues and appear inside of a smaller window than participants on an iPhone. However, if I fire up a group video call on Facebook Messenger or Zoom, participants can just use the native app for those services and the call just works since they are fully built to work on different operating systems.

I expect that RCS texting may have its own similar growing pains. However even if there’s a way to go for the RCS standard to reach maturity, Apple and Google both agreeing to support the standard provides hope that it might actually replace the decades-old SMS and MMS. If it gets us any closer to saying goodbye to grainy photos sent over MMS, that alone could be worth the wait.

Technologies

Pope Francis’ Funeral: How to Stream Live or Watch the Replay

Here’s how to stream the pope’s funeral very early Saturday, and what you can expect to see during the service.

After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, the pope’s funeral will be celebrated on Saturday . Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City (which is very, very early if you’re tuning in from the US or Canada), and he will be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

The Vatican will be livestreaming the papal funeral and procession, though not the burial, on its YouTube channel as it happens. The funeral will also be televised live on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, as well as on streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Due to the time difference, it seems likely that many interested North American viewers will catch it when it’s replayed later on Saturday. Numerous networks will rebroadcast the service later that day.

If you choose to stay up, or get up early, here’s when the live broadcast of the pope’s funeral will air in your time zone in the continental US on April 26:

ET: 4 a.m.
CT: 3 a.m.
MT: 2 a.m.
PT: 1 a.m.

The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.

What to expect from the funeral

The funeral will follow many rituals, though not all traditional protocols will be followed. Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but the AP reports Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).

His funeral will be less elaborate than those of other popes per his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).

Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and not to be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.

The coffin will be taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will lead the service. After the service, the coffin will return to St Peter’s Basilica before it is carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial. The ceremony is estimated to end around 2 p.m. local time, or four hours after it begins.

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine days of consecutive mourning. According to Vatican News, a different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.

Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?

Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.

US president Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social Platform that he and first lady Melania Trump will be at the funeral. This will be Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. He is expected to have a seat in the third row, though the Vatican has yet to release an official seating chart. It is tradition for the first row of seats to go to Catholic royalty, and the second row to non-Catholic royals.

Prince William, who is attending on behalf of King Charles, will sit in the second row, which is reserved for non-Catholic royals. Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, devout Catholics, will also attend the funeral.

Conclave: What happens next to choose the new pope

After Pope Francis’ funeral, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will vote on his successor in an assembly of cardinals known as a conclave.

There are many matters for the cardinals to settle before the conclave begins, but once it does, it can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.

Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope

Look for the white smoke

The ballots are burned after each round, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, the chemicals will be added to the flames so they produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.

If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in 2024 film Conclave.

In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is completely fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 26, #685

Hints and answers for Connections for April 26, #685.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle features a lot of short words, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That purple category requires a lot of thinking — probably most people will solve it only by solving the other three and having four words left over. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rainbow.

Green group hint: San Fernando ____.

Blue group hint: Think Robert.

Purple group hint: Mixed-up hue words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tint.

Green group: Valley.

Blue group: Bobs.

Purple group: Color anagrams.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tint. The four answers are color, hue, shade and tone.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is valley. The four answers are dale, dell, glen and hollow.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Bobs. The four answers are Dole, Hope, Marley and Ross.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is color anagrams. The four answers are Dre (red), Gary (gray), genre (green) and lube (blue).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 26, #215

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 215, for Saturday, April 26.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition is tough today. The purple category theme threw me because of one phrase I didn’t know. And let’s hope you’re familiar with college coach surnames. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Try to achieve.

Green group hint: Move through it.

Blue group hint: Sideline bosses.

Purple group hint: Like a carton.