For years, I was a nuisance to anyone who owned an iPhone. As I proudly carried my Samsung Galaxy devices, my friends lamented the havoc I would wreak on any text or group chat by “turning everything green.” There’s apparently nothing worse for an iMessage user than an Android user crashing their precious blue bubble party.
I’ve since given up the fight and moved to an iPhone, and now enjoy the many benefits of iMessage, including sending high-resolution photos and videos, seeing typing indicators, and sharing messages. reactions. These benefits are limited to messages sent to other iPhone users. I am now the one who, to my great despair, deplores receiving green text messages from anyone “outside”. Exclusivity brings out the worst in us.
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Now that Apple has announced that it will be adopting Rich Communication Services messaging, things should be looking up. RCS is a protocol that replaces SMS (Short Message Service) and has many of the same features as iMessage, including typing indicators, high-resolution media sharing, and end-to-end encryption. It’s already available on Android devices, and after years of pressure from iPhone users, competitors, and lawmakers, Apple has announced that it will be adopting RCS on iPhones as well.
Despite Apple barely acknowledging RCS’s imminent arrival on iPhones during this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, the update is expected to be available to the public in the fall with iOS 18 It’s now rolling out with iOS 18 Developer Beta 2, as 9to5Mac reported earlier.
Here’s everything you need to know about how Apple’s adoption of RCS could improve messaging.
The screenshot of Apple’s RCS messaging shows a “delivered” status update, a media, and a few green bubbles. While it looks a lot like a current MMS conversation, it’s probably the biggest improvement a non-iMessage conversation has seen in years on the iPhone.
RCS to replace SMS on iPhones
When RCS comes to iPhones, it is expected to transform Android users’ basic messaging into a more modern and sophisticated experience by replacing SMS and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Apple shared a first look at the new feature on its iOS 18 preview page after WWDC, and here’s what we know so far.
Instead of getting small and grainy photos and videos from Android friends, you’ll see high-quality media. RCS will also bring benefits like read and delivery receipts, according to a screenshot posted by Apple.
According to X users who have been using the new RCS feature with iOS 18 Developer Beta 2, iPhone owners will also see typing indicators when texting their friends on Android.
But there is a big caveat: adopting the RCS will not solve the blue-green bubble problem. iMessage will continue to be available only to Apple customers, meaning that texting anyone who doesn’t have an iPhone will still be a separate (but hopefully more comparable) experience.
And yes, Android users’ SMS will remain green. You’ll just have to make do.
Some features will remain exclusive to iMessage or Google’s Messages app. For example, while you can edit or unsend text messages in iMessage, you likely won’t be able to do so for messages sent via RCS. Additionally, features exclusive to Google Messages, like composing texts using the Gemini AI model, likely won’t transfer between devices. It’s not yet clear whether messages sent on Android phones and iPhones will be end-to-end encrypted.
Still, this update should make messaging on Android phones and iPhones less archaic.
When will RCS be available on iPhones?
Apple hasn’t given an exact timeline, but it’s expected to be available in the fall with the release of iOS 18.
Even before the WWDC keynote, Google reportedly accidentally leaked the arrival of RCS for iPhones on a Google Messages landing page. According to 9to5Google, the search giant said the new messaging protocol was “coming to iOS soon” and that “Apple has announced that it will adopt RCS in fall 2024.” That mention has since been removed, but it’s as if Google is having a hard time containing its excitement.
Will the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit open up iMessage?
In a sweeping lawsuit against Apple, the U.S. Justice Department accuses the iPhone maker of stifling competition, citing a series of practices it considers monopolistic. In particular, it accuses Apple of “harming cross-platform messaging” by not extending its iMessage service to Android.
Apple has argued that keeping iMessage exclusive to its own devices is in the interest of user privacy and security, noting that it would not be able to ensure that encryption and authentication measures on third-party devices meet its standards. It also points to the company’s ongoing work to support RCS, which it says will improve the messaging experience with non-iPhone users.
And as if that wasn’t enough to make people happy, Apple highlighted the range of other messaging platforms that people can use to communicate across devices, including WhatsApp, Messenger and Snapchat. But, depending on where you live, it may be more intuitive to access the native text app on your phone, whether it’s Apple’s iMessage or Google Messages.
Whether the DOJ’s complaint will force Apple to open its walled garden remains to be seen. The European Union has also been pressuring Apple and other tech giants under its Digital Markets Act, designed to promote fair and open competition in the tech sector. Earlier this year, the EU ruled that Apple’s messaging platform did not qualify as a “gatekeeper” service, meaning it would not need to connect directly to other chat apps. (Meanwhile, Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger apps TO DO Time (years, perhaps) will tell how Apple responds to the DOJ’s allegations and whether or not changes are planned for iMessage.
In the meantime, iPhone and Android users can find some respite thanks to Apple’s impending adoption of RCS, which should hopefully make talking to your friends on different devices less painful. And even if the texts remain green, let’s hope that the grass on the other side is a little less green.