Last November, Apple announced that it would add RCS (Rich Communication Services) support to the iPhone later this year. With this support, iPhone users will be able to view images and videos sent to them by Android users via RCS without having to deal with poor quality images and videos. Once Apple adds RCS support to
iPhone, iPhone users will be able to get read receipts when communicating with Android users and see typing indicators. Messages will always be protected with end-to-end encryption.
Currently, when an iPhone user messages an Android user and vice versa, the conversation takes place over the old-school SMS/MMS platform, which is why the shared videos look like shit, just like the images shared. Since RCS and iMessage have almost the same features, iPhone users should have no problem using RCS when Apple adds support for it.
The question is: when will this happen? When will Apple
start supporting RCS? On the
Android.com website (via
9to5Google), Google released an updated landing page that says: “Apple has announced that it will adopt RCS in fall 2024.” Apple actually said in November 2023 that support would come “later next year,” meaning we can call it “news.”
Google says Apple announced RCS support on iPhone will be available this fall
The first day of fall this year will be September 22, 2024, which would coincide with a possible release date for the iPhone 16 and iOS 18 lineup. So there's a good chance that if Apple announces that support of RCS will take place in the fall, this will mean that RCS support for the iPhone will debut with the release of iOS 18 in September. If Apple adds it to iOS 18 Beta developer, iPhone support for RCS might be available for those who install the iOS 18 developer beta just after Apple unveiled iOS 18 during the WWDC 2024 Keynote on June 10.
When Apple adds RCS support to iPhone, you should be able to see if you have an RCS connection by looking at the text field before you start typing a message. For example, after tapping on the name of the recipient using Android you are sending a message to and you see RCS in the text field, it means you will chat with the recipient using Rich Communication Services. On the other hand, if the text field says Text Message, you are sending a message to an Android user who does not use RCS, or an RCS signal is not available. So, you will chat by SMS/MMS.
Apple will no doubt be putting a lot of effort into adding RCS support as September approaches, so stay tuned. We can tell you that Apple's support for RCS will not add the blue bubble/green bubble flaw.
