In June 2024, during Apple’s World-Wide Developers Conference (WWDC42), the company stated that iOS 18 would feature RCS communications. You may finally enjoy rich messaging features and easy connection between your iPhone and Android devices on September 16th when you download and install iOS 18.
This might signal the end of the conflict between the blue and green message bubbles and allow users of Android and iPhone to enjoy rich messaging features and seamless connection between their devices. RCS service is already available for beta users’ devices. In this post, you will learn how Apple’s iOS 18 supports RCS:
Rich Communication Suite:
With the addition of several capabilities typically found on apps like iMessage or WhatsApp, the RCS standard, defined by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), seeks to enhance traditional SMS communications. It means capabilities for file transfers, typing alerts, group chat, and other features.
Some effective marketing, event communications, and customer interaction usage scenarios for enterprise users were discovered through the GSMA’s early work. Regulators have started questioning Apple’s choice to withhold such support despite the company’s initial strong resistance to implementing the standard on its devices.
What is supported by RCS on the iPhone?
IPhones promise several improved texting functions with rich communication services. These include audio messages, larger attachments, and better-quality images and videos. Benefits for users include cross-platform emoji reactions, read receipts, and typing indicators.
Moreover, RCS makes possible file transfers, location sharing, and group chats. An “RCS Message” label displays in the text field when sending an RCS message to an Android user. This allows for more interactive and material sharing and smooth, rich communication across platforms.
How does one make RCS available on their iPhone?
You may enable RCS in Settings>Apps>Messages, where there should be an RCS toggle if you use the most recent iOS 18 beta. Your carrier probably doesn’t support RCS for iPhones yet if that’s not there. Carrier upgrades, typically included with iOS updates, are required to support the feature. When the iOS 18 ships, other carriers will most likely add support.
Cross-Platform Messaging upgrades:
Adding RCS to iOS 18 significantly improves cross-platform texting, benefiting consumers who communicate between iOS and Android devices.
Rich media, including GIFs, stickers, and high-resolution photos, may now be included in messages because of the adoption of RCS, which replaced standard SMS and MMS.
This feature ensures that messages stay interactive and of high quality, irrespective of the device kind of the recipient. In addition, cross-platform conversations become more natural and captivating with the help of group chats and suggested replies, which enhance their dynamism and fluidity.
Brands’ Strategic Importance
For groups looking to increase client engagement and communication, adopting RCS business messaging is strategically essential. Rich, dynamic material that far surpasses the capabilities of standard SMS can be sent directly to customers through RCS, an unmatched opportunity.
This translates for brands into better marketing campaigns, better customer service, and closer ties to their target market. Multimedia content sending and features like typing indicators and read receipts enable more targeted and effective communication.
How does iOS RCS influence users and the entire ecosystem?
Texting Android users is now free of SMS constraints, which is the most obvious and immediate effect of Apple’s adoption of RCS. SMS was once the primary method of message delivery for iPhone and Android users.
This method frequently resulted in poor quality, slow delivery, and lacked contemporary features like end-to-end encryption. This gap is closed with the emergence of RCS, which provides rich and seamless cross-platform communication.
Since it solves the “green bubble” issue, this is a very beneficial change for users who interact with Android users regularly. Whether users are texting to Android or iOS devices, RCS makes messaging easier.
RCS will make conversations between iOS and Android devices more seamless and feature-rich than ever before, even though Apple will still maintain iMessage as its exclusive service for communication between Apple and Apple.
Wrapping it up: Gupshup has a strong feature set and scalability; hence, we are the top rcs service enterprise provider. Businesses may engage customers with photos, videos, and carousels through our rich and interactive messaging features, which can increase conversions by 70%. We have universal RCS support and offer worldwide reach even on iPhones and reliable SMS fallback.
