Or just don't use iMessage for texting. Every other messaging app has these features and is free and usable on every smartphone

SMS isold and shitty, but its supported on every phone model. Apple stacked iMessage on top of it for rich media when both endpoints support iMessage. android and others stacked RCS on top of SMS for the same rich media purposes. When incompatible devices communicate (iOS<->non-iOS), they fall back to crappy SMS. You're saying you like the separate-system status quo and if you want to communicate with one group or the other (iOS or non-iOS), switch devices. We're saying why can't we all just have one rich-media format that works for everybody?" I don't care if Apple switches to RCS or opens up full-featured iMessage to everybody. I just want to be able to talk to all my friends without us having to buy the same hardware. Are you just being intentionally obtuse?

I have an iPhone, and the primary reason why is because 90% of my friends and family will not adopt another app for messaging. Why should they when literally everyone else they communicate with can take iMessages?

But when everyone is passing around photos and videos, the one person who greatly prefers open-standards gets (and sends) potato quality.

And that is really Apples “fault”. Not really, though, because it’s not an accident that they have an amazing messaging platform that is the system default and just so happens to be proprietary. And as such they have no incentive to fix it, because it will only lead to people like me leaving iPhone.