I have dozens of group chats with iPhone, Android, and even PC users. We never encounter any of the limitations of SMS, for the same reason we can drive across the country and don’t have to constantly scan for new radio channels. It’s just not a technology that we use.
SMS is the old, WhatsApp/Telegram/Messenger/Signal/Discord/etc is the new.
So I have to replace the native messaging app that's decentralized, well proven, reliable, and pre-installed on every phone that can communicate with anyone in the world for 5 different centralized apps from the app store that may or may not exist next year and also try to move my entire network over?
I use iMessage. It's great, and doesn't get in the way. And as I said it's included on my phone. It also allows me to communicate with anyone and I don't have to think about if the person I'm contacting has it installed or not, it gracefully degrades to SMS when needed. That's a great messaging app!
While I do have browser tabs open for WhatsApp, Google Chat, and GroupMe, as well as the Signal desktop app running, most people I know do not do this, and do most/all of their messaging from their phone.
I get that's not your experience, but it is indeed an experience that exists, and is probably fairly common.
SMS is the old, WhatsApp/Telegram/Messenger/Signal/Discord/etc is the new.