Apple to enhance texting between iPhones, Androids

After hesitating for years, the company declares iPhones will now support the RCS messaging standard

Apple intends to embrace a messaging standard to facilitate seamless texting between iPhones and Android devices, a longstanding issue with rival Google. Historically, Apple has been reluctant to integrate its products with non-Apple devices, evident in the distinctive green background of iPhone-to-Android chats. While the background might persist, Apple’s adoption of rich communication services (RCS) from next year could introduce features like read receipts across the two operating systems. However, iMessage will continue to be exclusive to iPhones and other Apple devices.

In the upcoming year, we plan to incorporate support for the RCS Universal Profile, the current standard defined by the GSM Association. We anticipate that RCS Universal Profile will provide a more seamless interoperability experience in comparison to SMS or MMS,” stated Apple in a declaration initially reported by 9to5Mac.

Apple has resisted embracing the RCS standard for years, despite pressure from Alphabet’s Google and others urging the iPhone maker to adopt the technology. Last year, during an inquiry from a reporter whose mother used an Android, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook responded with a quip: “Buy your mom an iPhone,” and added, “I don’t see our users asking us to put a lot of energy into” adopting RCS.

RCS, recognized as an industry standard for messaging, enables users to send and receive high-quality photos and videos, engage in chat over Wi-Fi or cellular data, and receive read receipts, among other features. Currently, exchanging pictures and videos between Android and iPhones leads to a degradation in media quality. Messages between iPhones and Androids lack encryption, unlike iMessages between iPhones or messages sent via WhatsApp, making them more susceptible to surveillance.

Following Apple’s announcement, Google expressed satisfaction, stating it was “happy to see Apple take their first step today by coming on board to embrace RCS.” Google further committed to collaborating with Apple to implement the standard.

In a campaign called “Get the message” last year, Google urged Apple to adopt RCS, placing blame for the communication disparity on Apple. Android’s campaign website still contends, “Texting between iPhones and Android phones feels like using tech from another era, because it is – Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards.

A day prior to Apple’s RCS announcement, Nothing, the phone company, revealed that its Android phones would introduce a new feature supporting iMessage. Following Apple’s statement, Nothing’s CEO, Carl Pei, declared victory on Twitter/X, quoting former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Simultaneously, European Union regulators exerted pressure on Apple. The deadline for Apple to contend with the EU on whether iMessage should be classified as a “core” service under the Digital Services Act was Thursday. If deemed a core service, regulators could potentially compel Apple to open up its ecosystem as a legal requirement.