RCS now works on iPhones running the iOS 18 beta

Since the release of Apple’s iOS 18 developer beta 2, Rich Communication Suite (RCS) support has come to messaging on iPhones. That means you can look forward to a more platform-agnostic messaging experience than before, making messaging between work colleagues, partners, and friends better than before — sometimes by satellite.

What is Rich Communication Suite (RCS)?

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA)-defined RCS standard aims to improve on standard SMS messaging with the addition of a suite of features you usually find on platforms like iMessage or WhatsApp. That means support for group chat, file transfers, typing notifications and more.

Initial work by the GSMA identified some successful customer engagement, marketing, and event communications usage scenarios for enterprise users. While Apple was highly resistant to implementing the standard on its devices, it has now changed its mind, partly as regulators began to question the decision not to offer such support. 

Apple has made one recent reference to RCS. “When messaging contacts who do not have an Apple device, the iMessages app now supports RCS for richer media and more reliable group messaging compared to SMS and MMS,” the company said in June.

What does RCS support on iPhone?

At present, RCS promises support for higher quality photos and videos, audio messages, and larger file sizes for attachments. It also provides read receipts and typing indicators, cross platform emoji reactions, and location sharing. Users can expect:

• Group chat.
• File transfers.
• Typing notifications.
• Higher resolution photos and video. 
• Audio messages.
• Read receipts.
• Typing indicators.
• Location sharing.
• Cross platform emoji.

You will 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 RCS safe to use?

RCS is not as secure as iMessage but does provide better encryption than you’ll get using SMS. It is possible that Apple will implement a more secure version of RCS in time, but as things stand, the most secure messaging option remains iMessage because it delivers end-to-end encryption.

What this means for iPhone users

The first thoughts on how RCS works between iPhones and Android devices are pretty positive. The images you share will be high-res rather than deeply compressed. Read receipts and typing indicators flow between both platforms. Standard Tapback responses also work, meaning you can send reactions to messages using that system. 

You won’t get access to text formatting or some of the other new iMessage features — and RCS messages remain encased in green bubbles with an accompanying label that tells you this was a Text Message in the RCS format.

Apple’s hierarchy of texts

There is a hierarchy to how messaging is handled. That means if two Apple devices are used to communicate, they will use Apple’s iMessage, which continues to be the best messaging experience on iPhones. 

If an Apple device is communicating with an Android device, the exchange will take place over RCS, and if the carrier doesn’t support RCS or there is no active data connection the messaging all takes place over SMS. At the risk of sounding obvious, SMS lacks the more advanced messaging features you will find in either of the other standards, and Apple’s approach still means iMessage is the best option.

What is the road map for RCS improvement?

The RCS experience will improve over time. The GSMA Association last month finalized the latest update to the standard, adding support for replies and reactions and the ability to edit, recall, and delete messages sent earlier for both parties. 

The update also includes a tool to report spam messages and additional support for Custom Reactions, which may mean that Genmoji and Photomoji will become more cross platform. Apple is working with Google and members of the GSMA to improve the standard worldwide, which implies features such as the ability to edit and delete messages should be available via RCS at some point.

How do I enable RCS on my iPhone?

If you are 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 that, it’s likely your carrier doesn’t yet support RCS on iPhones. To support the feature, carriers need to update some of their own settings, which are usually bundled within iOS updates. It is likely more carriers will introduce support for this by the time the iOS 18 ships.

Where is RCS available?

Apple only enabled RCS support on iPhones in the second iOS 18 beta and only on some US networks. That support has now been extended to other nations and some networks, including those in Canada, Spain, France, Germany.

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