RCS support is coming in the fall, as if Apple couldn’t take more from Google’s playbook
This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Unless you live a truly Apple-less existence — and frankly, more power to you — you probably know WWDC 2024 kicked off today. Even if it’s an event that doesn’t particularly matter to Android users, there usually are a handful of features that matter outside of the iPhone’s mythical bubble. iOS 18 might be centered around AI experiences and copying plenty from Android’s customization playbook, but it’s also getting a feature that everyone, no matter what phone you have, should benefit from: RCS.
Yes, after years of complaints from Android and iOS users alike — not to mention an entire PR campaign put on by Google — RCS support is officially baked into this fall’s iPhone upgrade. Unsurprisingly, today’s keynote went on without much of a mention of this tool, quickly getting an on-screen appearance right at the end of the iOS 18 section of WWDC. Still, it confirmed what most of us assumed after last year’s promise to support RCS in 2024: it’s launching alongside iOS 18 this fall.
Apple’s website for its latest iOS preview breaks down the feature a bit more specifically, noting RCS is designed to bring “richer media and deliver and read receipts for those who don’t use iMessage.” That’s as polite a way to describe Android users as I’ve ever seen Apple make. The company also included a single screenshot of RCS in action, showing a high-res photo, a voice recording, delivery receipts, and — sigh — radioactive green bubbles. At least that last one won’t affect anyone actually using an Android phone as their daily driver.
Unfortunately, although Apple usually delivers a metric ton of footnotes further explaining specific iOS features at the bottom of its roundup page — and this year is no different — RCS doesn’t get any additional explanation or information. There have been plenty of unanswered questions since last fall’s surprise announcement regarding RCS, and that includes just how it’ll interact with Google’s implementation of the standard. While Android does use Universal Profile, some features, most notably end-to-end encryption, are custom-built for Messages.
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