Since the release of Apple‘s iOS 18 developer beta 2, support for Rich Communication Suite (RCS) has come to Messaging on iPhones. That means you can expect a more platform-agnostic messaging experience than before, making messaging between coworkers, partners, and friends better than ever before—sometimes over satellite.
What is Rich Communication Suite (RCS)?
The RCS standard defined by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) aims to improve standard SMS messaging by incorporating a set of features typically found on platforms like iMessage or WhatsApp. This means support for group chats, file transfers, typing notifications, and more.
The GSMA’s initial work identified some successful use cases for customer engagement, marketing and event communications for enterprise users. While Apple was long reluctant to implement the standard in its devices, it has now changed its mind, in part because regulators have begun to question the decision not to offer such support.
Apple has recently made reference to RCS: “When sending messages to contacts who don’t have an Apple device, the iMessages app now supports RCS to deliver richer multimedia content and more reliable group messaging compared to SMS and MMS,” the company said in June.
What does RCS support on iPhone?
RCS currently promises support for higher quality photos and videos, audio messages, and larger file attachments. It also offers read receipts and typing indicators, cross-platform emoji reactions, and location sharing. Users can expect:
- Chat group.
- File transfers.
- Write notifications.
- Higher resolution photos and videos.
- Audio messages.
- Read receipts.
- Typing indicators.
- Share location.
- Cross-platform emoji.
You’ll know when you’re in an RCS chat with an Android user because you’ll see a small grey label that says RCS Message in the text field.
Is it safe to use RCS?
RCS isn’t as secure as iMessage, but it does offer better encryption than you get with SMS. It’s possible that Apple will roll out a more secure version of RCS over time, but as things stand, the most secure messaging option is still iMessage, as it offers end-to-end encryption.
What this means for iPhone users
First impressions of how RCS works between iPhones and Android devices are pretty positive. Images you share will be high-resolution rather than highly compressed. Read receipts and write indicators flow between both platforms. Standard Tapback replies also work, meaning you can send reactions to messages using that system.
You won’t have access to text formatting or some of the new iMessage features, and RCS messages remain enclosed in green bubbles with a label attached to them telling you that it’s an RCS text message.
Apple’s text hierarchy
There is a hierarchy in the way messaging is handled. This means that if two Apple devices are used to communicate, they will use Apple’s iMessage, which remains the best messaging experience on iPhones.
If an Apple device is communicating with an Android device, the exchange will be done using RCS, and if the carrier doesn’t support RCS or there isn’t an active data connection, messaging will be done using SMS. At the risk of sounding obvious, SMS lacks the more advanced messaging features you’ll find in any of the other standards, and Apple’s approach still means that iMessage is the better option.
What is the roadmap for RCS improvement?
The RCS experience will only improve over time. Last month, the GSMA finalized the latest update to the standard, which added support for replies and reactions and the ability to edit, retrieve and delete previously sent messages for both parties.
The update also includes a tool to report spam messages and added support for custom reactions, which could mean Genmoji and Photomoji will become more cross-platform. Apple is working with Google and members of the GSMA to improve the standard worldwide, meaning features like the ability to edit and delete messages should be available through RCS at some point.
How do I activate RCS on my iPhone?
If you’re running the latest iOS 18 beta, you can enable RCS in Settings > Apps > Messages, where you should find an RCS toggle. If you don’t see it, your carrier likely doesn’t yet support RCS on iPhones. To support the feature, carriers must update some of their own settings, which are typically included in iOS updates. More carriers will likely add support for this feature when iOS 18 is released.
Where is RCS available?
Apple only enabled RCS support on iPhones in the second beta of iOS 18, and only on select networks in the US. That support has now been extended to other countries and select networks, including those in Canada, Spain, France, and Germany.
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