Did Google just pre-empt Apple’s large announcement? An Android developer has just released an update Google News landing pageshowing the most essential features, from personalization, privacy and security, to artificial intelligence.
This landing page has different sections for each feature set, including one for RCS. As noted by 9to5Google, if you expand this list of RCS features and scroll down, you’ll see a section titled “Coming Soon to iOS: Better Messaging for Everyone.” This is no surprise: we know that Apple has been implementing RCS since November. However, the next line brings this news: “Apple announced that it will implement RCS in the fall of 2024.”
Has it? Sure, the company committed to bringing RCS to iPhones, but the last time it discussed the topic, it only mentioned that support would arrive later this year. The company never said anything specific When we’ll get RCS within the year, so Google’s announcement, however subtle, is large news.
Why is RCS for iPhone such a large deal?
Currently, Apple only supports the long-obsolete SMS and MMS protocols when sending SMS from third-party smartphones. (AKA green bubbles.) SMS/MMS results in indigent quality images, terrifying high-quality videos, problems with group chats and, worst of all, indigent security as it is not end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). On the other hand, RCS is a newer messaging protocol that offers newfangled features such as E2EE, typing indicators, high-quality images and videos, and streamlined group chats. Unlike iMessage, it’s also platform-agnostic: if your texting app and carrier support RCS, you can easily send messages to other numbers on the platform.
However, Apple does not currently support RCS, so until they do, it will be SMS/MMS. This reluctance to give up texting is why sending text messages to Android from iPhone is so tough. It’s not your friend’s fault: it’s Apple’s fault. You can read more about RCS on iPhone and why it’s such a large deal here.
RCS may be a feature of iOS 18
If Apple is indeed planning to launch RCS in fall 2024, it strongly suggests that adoption will be a feature of iOS 18. Apple usually releases its major iOS update in September, so it’s likely that the company plans to make RCS support available as part of that launch. Of course, there could always be an update like iOS 18.1 or 18.2 available, but let one hold out hope: if RCS is part of iOS 18, that means it could be in the iOS 18 beta that Apple will make available to developers (and anyone who dares install it) after the software is announced at WWDC 2024.
There is chance – a chance— we could have RCS support on iPhone from June 10. If this is true, you can be sure that I will install iOS 18 Developer Beta 1 as soon as it is released.
