The wait is finally over! RCS is coming to iPhones in the fall of 2024. But why is it such a big deal, and what features will RCS bring to the table for iPhones? Well, mainly due to the quality of cross-platform messaging, at least when you’re using default iPhone and Android messaging apps.
We finally have a more specific launch time frame for RCS on the iPhone
In late 2023, Apple announced that iMessage would begin supporting RCS messaging sometime in 2024. Since this announcement, there hasn’t been any information coming out on the topic of exactly when Apple is planning to release this feature.
However, on the Google Messages second product page, Google mentions in a tile highlighting RCS benefits that iMessage will start supporting RCS in the fall of 2024. While we still lack an exact release date, this information is more specific than Apple’s previous announcement about this feature, which only indicated availability sometime in 2024.
“Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024. Once that happens, it will mean a better messaging experience for everyone,” mentions the tile on the Google Messages webpage regarding RCS on iPhone.
What new features will RCS bring to the iPhone?
RCS has been part of the Android ecosystem for some time now. Users have long been requesting RCS support on the iPhone, especially due to the outdated SMS and MMS protocols that iPhones use to send messages to non-Apple devices.
As a result of using outdated technology, you must have likely encountered various issues when sending messages from your iPhone to an Android device. With the introduction of RCS on the iPhone, you will no longer encounter these issues when sending messages to non-Apple devices. Along with this, RCS will introduce features such as typing indicators, seamless group messaging, high-quality media file sharing, and, of course, end-to-end encryption.
The best part about RCS is that it isn’t limited to a specific platform. This means that if your texting app (iMessage for iPhone or Google Messages for Android) and carriers support the feature, you can use it without any issues.
Since the feature is expected to arrive in fall 2024, it’s likely Apple will introduce it as an iOS 18 feature. If it does, then the day isn’t far off when, as an iPhone user, you’ll be able to send high-quality media files and text messages to your Android friends with ease.
