Apple’s Messages app might be getting RCS texting help later this yr as a part of iOS 18, promising so as to add extra fashionable options to conversations between an iPhone and an Android cellphone. Though the characteristic did not get way more than a passing reference throughout the firm’s WWDC 2024 keynote, it guarantees to be an enormous enchancment that would enable for higher picture sharing and group chats whether or not your contacts use an iPhone or an Android.
Buried in Apple’s iOS 18 preview web page (scroll all the way in which right down to the Messages part or simply take a look at the above picture I clipped out) is a screenshot that shows what an RCS dialog might seem like when an iPhone texts with an Android.
Whereas it seems lots like an SMS or MMS dialog, that includes two inexperienced bubbles and a inexperienced audio waveform, there are three noticeable RCS options on show. The largest is the “Delivered” standing message, which is a large step ahead since SMS and MMS can’t present such confirmations.
Subsequent is the (hopefully) high-quality picture, which does not look nice on this screenshot so we’ll need to consider from the inexperienced bubble textual content beneath it that it’s certainly “vibrant.” Present MMS texting on the iPhone helps audio messages with Android telephones, however hopefully the audio on this dialog is clearer than what at present goes via.
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And within the textual content field on the backside of the picture, there’s labeling that now says “RCS” to the best of “Textual content Message,” the latter of which is at present utilized by itself for SMS and MMS chats.
RCS is a extra fashionable texting customary that is been tipped to interchange the growing older SMS and MMS codecs, as a result of its capacity to help options like typing indicators, group chats and high-quality media sharing. The usual has been championed by the trade group GSMA and has been utilized by Google’s Messages app for Android for a number of years.
Nevertheless, although Google’s Messages app helps a number of options that rival Apple’s iMessage by profiting from RCS, together with RCS help in iOS 18 doesn’t essentially imply that Apple’s Messages app will help the identical options one-for-one. As an illustration, Apple stated final yr it is going to work with the GSMA to enhance the encryption customary included inside RCS fairly than undertake one other firm’s such because the one Google Messages makes use of. Apple additionally introduced that its iMessage service will proceed to be supported alongside RCS, so it is possible that we’ll proceed to see iMessage options that can keep separate from RCS.
There are nonetheless lots of questions left to reply about Apple’s help of RCS. As an illustration, how effectively will it help group chats? Will it translate message reactions which are despatched by Android telephones to the iPhone? For now, these particulars will stay below wraps, probably till Apple is able to unveil its subsequent iPhone later this yr.
