Apple adds RCS to iPhone Messages, transforming texting

Texting between iPhones and Android devices used to be a literal blue-or-green battlefield, limited by outdated wireless protocols that also crushed video quality and stripped essential chat features from messages. That’s all about to change, however, as Apple appears set to join the RCS revolution in the iPhone’s Messages app — and bring about the first earnestly universal upgrade to standard texting overall — while raising an entirely new question for millions of users: just how does RCS compare to iMessage, anyway?

What RCS is and why the standard matters for texting today

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is a carrier-tinkered-with standard created by the GSMA to modernize SMS. Think read receipts, typing indicators, high-res photos and video, better group chats, location sharing, and sender verification — without having to install or create an account on another app. If both phones and both networks are compatible, RCS just works over your data connection (and falls back to SMS/MMS if not).

The timing is pivotal. Following a lengthy stalemate, Apple is finally providing RCS support on iPhone, so many of those green-bubble chats will finally get richer when texting Android users. Google has percolated the standard through its Jibe platform and Google Messages app, speeding up deployment by carriers and driving interoperability.

How RCS works compared with Apple’s iMessage service

RCS is a standard that carriers and messaging apps will use, following the GSMA Universal Profile (UP). The most recent UP 2.6 was last updated in late 2022, but Apple has conveyed its backing for UP 2.4 as it integrates RCS into Messages. These capabilities are all predicated on carriers deciding which features to activate, and that can differ by network and region.

By comparison, iMessage is Apple-proprietary in that it uses Apple’s servers and its own set of Apple IDs that can work across iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It has long bundled advanced benefits like message editing, unsend, tapbacks, stickers, and sync across devices behind the comforting blue bubble. Those features are still Apple-only — and iMessage has never supported them with carriers.

Put another way, RCS takes the green bubble path between two people and upgrades it. With more spacious, tidier media, typing indicators, and faster group management, cross-platform messaging feels a lot less archaic. RCS messages on iPhone to Android phones will also still look green, but the experience is significantly closer to what we probably expect messaging in 2025 to be.

Features head to head: RCS capabilities versus iMessage

Like RCS, iMessage delivers read receipts, typing indicators, better group threads, reactions, and higher-quality media. RCS also incorporates business messaging capabilities — such as verified senders and branded cards that carriers and enterprises use to send you boarding passes, delivery updates, or bank alerts without your having to open a third-party app.

iMessage still has a leg up in Apple’s ecosystem. Editing and unsending messages, richer stickers, and deep integration with FaceTime, SharePlay, and Apple Cash are still blue-bubble exclusives. If you’re all Apple, iMessage is still the tightest, best-executed experience.

Where RCS shines is universality. It’s linked to your phone number, available on both Android and iOS, and requires no download. RCS in Messages now supports over 1 billion monthly users, according to Google — momentum that simply wasn’t a factor with SMS-era texting.

Security and privacy differences between RCS and iMessage

Security is the largest philosophical divide. iMessage has provided end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Apple-to-Apple chats for some time, securing the content so that no one besides sender and recipient can access it. Apple also piles on protections, including iCloud data privacy settings and sensitive content warnings.

RCS is able to be encrypted, but standardization remains in flux. Google Messages offers E2EE for RCS one-to-one and group conversations within its app, using a standard created by Google on top of RCS. But because Apple is following the GSMA profile and not Google’s method, E2EE won’t automatically extend to cross-platform chats at launch. However, the GSMA and key participants are addressing interoperable E2EE for the Universal Profile, although timeframes are not yet set in stone.

TL;DR: iMessage maintains a security edge today for Apple-only conversations, while RCS raises the bar on baseline cross-platform texting and is working toward standardized E2EE across ecosystems.

Adoption, interoperability, and important RCS caveats

RCS is only as good as the networks and clients it enables. The three largest U.S. carriers are supporting the Universal Profile, and major operators in Europe and Asia — including Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and NTT Docomo — have also signed on. But not all carriers support every feature, and some legacy implementations create fragmentation that gets in the way of a seamless experience.

Apple’s approach goes a long way toward ending the stalemate, but not every rough edge is hidden. If one or both parties lacks RCS or loses data coverage, the chat falls back to SMS/MMS and the limitations that come with it become apparent. And although reactions, read receipts, and better media delivery will function on any platform where RCS is deployed, the iMessage-only perks remain locked to the blue bubble.

What to expect next as RCS rolls out on Apple’s iPhone

In the near term, the forecast is clear: cross-platform texting will improve considerably, especially around sharing photos and videos and managing group chats. Companies will further transition mission-critical alerts over to verified RCS, decreasing SMS spam and erroneous sending.

The longer-term issue is encryption parity. Assuming the GSMA, Apple, Google, and mobile carriers come to terms on interoperable E2EE while marching forward with their Universal Profile effort in unison — this time it can be RCS that fulfills its destiny as the modern secure default for the masses. Until then, there’s iMessage on the higher end that allows Apple-to-Apple messaging but also RCS support that diminishes much of the usability gap between iPhone and Android users.