So... MMS, then?
Why did MMS feel so janky back in the day?
Was it a client thing or a protocol thing?
Whatsapp felt so responsive back in the day. I'd be pinging my family in real time halfway across the globe on mobile in 2009. For Free. That was a killer app...
Why did MMS fail where Whatsapp succeeded?
MMS has terrible limitations, in both file size and media resolution.
RCS has replaced MMS as a protocol back in 2008 and it's only now gaining traction. Many carriers have shut down their RCS infrastructure half a decade ago, though, so they're not exactly jumping on the chance to turn it back on.