RCS is making its iPhone debut with iOS 18 beta 2. How will this exchange texting

For years, I was a nuisance to anyone with an iPhone. Before I proudly carried my Samsung Galaxy gadgets, my friends would decry the havoc I wreaked on any text or workplace chat by “turning everything green.” It seems there’s nothing worse for an iMessage user than that Android user who destroys their treasured blue-bubble union.

I’ve since given up the fight and switched to an iPhone, and now enjoy many of the benefits of iMessage, including sending high-resolution footage and movies, vision typing prompts, and sharing responses. Those features are limited to sending messages to fellow iPhone customers. Now I’m the one who cringes and regrets receiving naive messages from someone “out there.” Exclusivity brings out the worst in us.

Read more: The easiest iPhone to buy in 2024

Now that Apple has said it will introduce feature rich communications services, the problems need to be fixed. RCS is a protocol that replaces SMS (Snip Message Carrier) and has dozens of iMessage-like features, including typing signals, high-resolution media sharing, and end-to-end encryption. It is already available on all Android devices and, due to pressure from iPhone customers, competition, and lawmakers next year, Apple has mentioned that it will implement RCS on iPhones as well.

Even though Apple said little about the upcoming arrival of RCS on iPhones during the show’s Global Builders Convention keynote, the update is expected to be available in the country with iOS 18. It is now becoming available with iOS 18 developers. Beta 2, 9to5Mac previously reported.

Here’s all you need to know about how Apple’s adoption of RCS could strengthen messaging.

RCS will replace SMS texting on iPhone

When RCS comes to iPhones, it should transform plain messaging into a more modern, sophisticated experience with Android users via SMS and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Carriers). Apple shared the first look at the refresh capability on its iOS 18 preview web page after WWDC, and here’s what we know so far.

In exchange for tiny, grainy footage and movies from Android friends, you’ll watch top-class media. According to the screenshots posted by Apple, RCS will also provide features like read and distributed receipts.

iPhone owners will also see typing prompts when texting friends on Android, according to users on the

There is one big caveat, however: adopting RCS will not solve the blue-bubble-green-bubble issue. iMessage will remain available only to Apple consumers, meaning texting someone who doesn’t have an iPhone will still be a free (though certainly more relevant) experience.

And yes, the texts will still be green for Android users. You just have to deal with it.

Some options will remain unique to iMessage or Google’s Messages app. For example, while you’ll be able to edit or unsend text in iMessage, you probably won’t be able to do the same for messages sent via RCS. And Google Messages-specific features like formatting text using Gemini AI Type probably won’t transfer to all devices. It is also not yet clear whether messages sent to Android phones and iPhones will be end-to-end encrypted.

However, this update would have made messaging on Android phones and iPhones actually seem less outdated.

When will RCS change be available on iPhone?

Apple hasn’t shared the actual timing, although it should be available as soon as iOS 18 launches.

Even before the WWDC keynote, it appeared that Google had inadvertently leaked the arrival of RCS on iPhones in a landing web page for Google Messages. According to 9to5Google, Hunt highly noted that the refreshed messaging protocol is “coming to iOS soon” and “Apple has announced it will adopt RCS in late 2024.” This point has since been removed, although it seems Google can rarely contain its fun.

Will DOJ Antitrust Viewable Go Well With iMessage?

In a sweeping criticism against Apple, the US jurisdiction has accused the iPhone maker of disrupting the festivities, delving deeper into the field of practices it sees as monopolistic. This includes allegations that Apple “undermines cross-platform messaging” by no longer extending its iMessage carrier to Android.

Apple has said that keeping iMessage exclusive to its own personal devices is a matter of user privacy and security, noting that it would not be able to keep encryption and authentication measures on third-party devices up to its standards. . It also points to the company’s ongoing work to support RCS, which it says will allow for a better messaging experience with non-iPhone users.

And if that’s not enough to satisfy the public, Apple turned its attention to the area of ​​alternative messaging platforms that the public can use to stay in touch across devices, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Snapchat. However, depending on where you live, it may be more intuitive to access a text app native to your phone, whether it’s Apple’s iMessage or Google Messages.

Whether the DOJ’s criticism will enable Apple to remain visible beyond its walls remains to be seen. The EU Union is also using force on Apple and other tech giants as part of its Virtual Market Business, designed to promote a fair and fair fair in the tech sector. Prior to this current, EU progressive Apple’s messaging platform did not qualify as a “gatekeeper” carrier, meaning it would not be required to integrate directly with alternative chat apps. (Meanwhile, Meta’s WhatsApp and Messenger apps to do Fall under the EU’s gatekeeper label and therefore must allow negotiations on alternative services and products.) While years, presumably, will tell how Apple fares in the face of the DOJ’s allegations and future changes to iMessage.

Meanwhile, iPhone and Android users can take solace from Apple’s upcoming adoption of RCS, which will confidently make talking to their friends on other devices less painful. And despite the fact that the texts remain green, the grass certainly seems to be a little shorter on the other side.