Wesley Hilliard
Google thought Apple adopting RCS would fix everything, but the messaging protocol is still a distant second to iMessage thanks to a lack of carrier support, device support, and encryption.
When iOS 18 launched, some iPhone users saw a tiny change in the Messages app — an RCS tag in text chats with supported Android users. However, the list of people able to take advantage of this better system is as convoluted as Android's fragmentation problem.
According to a list provided by Foxt Dev, RCS support is limited to a few popular carriers in the United States, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and France, but outside of that, RCS support doesn't exist. The RCS version being used is the one set by the GSMA, not Google, so end-to-end encryption isn't enabled either.
What RCS does get you is improved photo and video sharing, typing indicators, and basic reactions. Apple, Google, and the GSMA are working towards encrypted messages with RCS, but it may take some time.
While the supported carriers in the select countries enable RCS, it is far from a global or universal messaging protocol. The lack of encryption means most people likely should default to other services when possible.
For now, iMessage is likely your best option, especially as Apple keeps adding features. Outside of the United States, apps like WhatsApp, Line, Signal, and WeChat are still the biggest means of communication.
RCS is just another standard
Google latched onto RCS as a possible way to escape its history of creating and killing failed messaging apps on Android. The company positioned it as a superior service that Apple refused to adopt despite it being a step down from the existing iMessage service on Apple products.
Instead of working to create a competitive service that could be equal to iMessage, Google fought to own a piece of what Apple had cultivated over a decade with iMessage — default status. However, it failed, as even though Apple adopted RCS, it didn't use Google's locked-in version.
Given the nature of SMS, it will likely take decades to phase it out entirely. And while RCS is definitely an improvement for green bubble chats, it serves only to further complicate an already busy space filled with dozens of chat options.
The beauty of Apple's system is that iMessage exists as a part of Messages and is tied to the user's phone number. Consumers should never and will never sit down to consider which chat protocol they are using.
Once RCS is encrypted and a significant majority of the world can use it when chatting with iPhone users, it will be a more viable option. However, as RCS exists today, it is likely better to stick with whatever chat app you used to talk to your Android friends before instead of rushing to get everyone in an RCS group chat.
At least sending images and group chats will be less of a nightmare between iPhone and Android users thanks to RCS. It's an improvement over SMS, but still not a unifying, universal protocol that actually helps everyone — just those with the right phone and right carrier in the right countries.
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8 Comments
Based on a quick perusal of my contacts I’d have to say that the title is correct and RCS isn’t widely available from an iPhone. I started a new message thread with people I know have Android phones and out of the 12-15 I tried only 1 showed RCS, all the others showed SMS. Of course, it isn’t all carrier specific. My cousin is on Verizon and is the only one of my contacts that showed RCS. My good friend is also on Verizon but still shows SMS. I’d venture that my cousin is running a more current version of Android than my friend is.
So does RCS use data (like iMessage) or carrier bandwidth (like SMS/MMS)?
i realised I shouldn’t treat the forum as Google, so I didn’t! I got quite a good answer:
it uses data, but needs carrier support too! Really!? So the worst of both worlds? Is it really the carriers trying to remain relevant?
Let me share an 'outside the US' perspective.
All this discussion about RCS is moot.
If I send an SMS/RCS to any Android contact, I never get a reply and they never see it.
Why?
Because Android users use WhatsApp. In other countries it's WeChat.
They see it as a combination iMessage/Facetime app and use it just like us Apple users use iMessage/Facetime - ie: we don't use anything else.
I asked a friend about my text message and they showed me their phone: no sign of my message, and no sign of any app that would show an SMS either. They either hadn't installed it or deleted that app.
I'm guessing in the US it's different, but I wouldn't think that it will be different for long.