iOS 18, now available for iPhones, marks a significant milestone for the iPhone-Android messaging experience. With the new update, Apple has started to roll out support for Rich Communications Services (RCS). Needless to say, Google is mighty impressed with the move, with Rick Osterloh, the company’s SVP of Devices and Services, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to express their excitement.
“Today is the day that texting between #Android and iOS starts to improve. With Apple joining Google in adopting #RCS, we all benefit from: 📸 High-quality photo and video sharing 👋 Seamless entering and exiting group chats 🧑🤝🧑 Personalized group chat names ❤️ Reactions to text 💬 Typing indicators 🧾 Message delivered and read receipts,” Osterloh wrote.
The Made by Google handle quickly followed up with their own comment, saying, “Huge W for group chats everywhere 👏🏽👏🏻👏🏿”
Apple’s integration of RCS into its messaging platform is seen as a huge step forward in improving communication between Android and iPhone users. For years, messaging between these platforms has been limited to basic SMS and MMS, which lacked the rich multimedia and real-time interaction features found in modern messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram.
What is RCS and why does it matter?
Rich Communications Services (RCS) adds a modern twist to conventional SMS and MMS, offering features such as high-quality media sharing, real-time typing indicators, and the ability to send messages over Wi-Fi or mobile data. RCS also allows for more seamless group chat experience wherein users can easily enter and exit chats.
With iOS 18, Apple now allows iPhone users to automatically upgrade conversations from SMS to RCS when messaging their non-Apple contacts. In Google’s Messages app, Android users will see “RCS message” instead of “Text message” when communicating with iPhone users on iOS 18 after the update. Just to be clear, green bubbles aren’t going anywhere and Android users will still know they don’t have an iPhone with blue chat bubbles.
One thing to note is that there is still no end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for cross-platform messaging between iPhones and Android devices like you get on WhatsApp. Apple and Google are reportedly working toward bringing E2EE but there is no timeline for when it will roll out officially. Moreover, several conveniences like media reactions and direct replies in group chats are missing in this update.
