It has taken a long time for RCS to unify the messaging experience across Android devices first, then between them and between iOS. But we’re almost there now. Green bubbles notwithstanding, sharing messages between different phones and platforms is now a much more consistent and reliable experience without the need to use third-party apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, or Signal.And Google Messages’ impact has been tremendous in getting RCS properly adopted. I notice this a lot, even in France, where WhatsApp is near ubiquitous. When I communicate with my friends or family, it’s WhatsApp; but when Samsung’s repair service wants me to send them photos of my broken TV, it’s through Google Messages. Yet, there’s still room to improve that experience, and the just-announced RCS 4.0 promises to bridge the gap even more and make Google Messages a more powerful messaging experience.