New in iOS 18.1: RCS support for Business Messaging, fixes for the random restart bug on iPhone 16 Pro

On Monday, Apple made the release candidate version of iOS 18.1 available to developers, ahead of the software's public launch on October 28. Similar to previous developer betas, Monday's release candidate introduces support for a new software feature and includes key bug fixes.

In addition to the various issues the update resolves, the RC version of iOS 18.1 enhances the existing business messaging feature by adding support for the RCS protocol.

Business Messaging now supports RCS in iOS 18.1

Business Messaging, previously known as Business Chat, made it possible for users to communicate with businesses directly within the Messages app, through iMessage.

This feature was originally introduced as a more convenient way of communication, as opposed to users relying on email and companies' proprietary web-based chat systems.

iOS 18.1 further improves the Business Messaging feature by adding RCS support. RCS, short for Rich Communication Services, is a text messaging protocol that offers better compatibility with Android devices, and also brings substantial improvements over traditional SMS messages.

While Apple already introduced RCS support for Messages with the public release of iOS 18, the company's iOS 18.1 release candidate makes it possible to use the RCS protocol in business chats as well.

With RCS, videos and GIFs maintain their full quality when sent from iPhone to Android and vice versa, while group chats, read receipts, and typing indicators also work between the two platforms.

Along with the enhancements to Business Messaging, the iOS 18.1 update also introduces various bug fixes. The update resolves a frequent restart issue affecting devices in the iPhone 16 range, among other things.

iOS 18.1 fixes the random restart issues affecting iPhone 16 Pro units

iOS 18.1 resolves an issue reported by multiple iPhone 16 owners, where the devices would repeatedly freeze up and restart themselves during normal day-to-day use. The bug was most commonly encountered on iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max units, which would sometimes crash even when in standby mode.

According to the iOS 18.1 RC release notes, published by Apple on Monday, the update addresses a few other bugs previously present within the iPhone operating system:

• Fixes an issue in Podcasts where unplayed episodes are marked as played.
• Fixes an issue where videos recorded at 4K 60 while the device is warm could experience stutter while scrubbing the video playback in Photos.
• Fixes an issue where digital car keys may not unlock or start a vehicle with passive entry after restoring from a backup or transferring directly from another iPhone.

iOS 18.1 will be released to the general public on October 28, 2024, a week after the roll-out of Monday's release candidate version. While AirPods Pro 2 will receive a new hearing aid feature with the release, the main focus of iOS 18.1 is Apple Intelligence, which makes it possible to edit and summarize text or modify images through the use of generative AI software.

It's worth pointing out, however, that Apple Intelligence features are only available for devices with an A17 Pro chip or newer, or iPad and Mac devices with an M1 or newer Apple Silicon chip.

While iOS 18.1 introduces a number of Apple Intelligence features, such as email categorization and summarization, Smart Replies, and Writing Tools, some AI-related enhancements, such as Image Playground, will only make their debut with future iOS releases later in 2024.