Apple Finally Implements RCS on iPhone: Can Send Messages to Android, What’s the Difference from SMS?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – After refusing to use the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging protocol for a long time, Apple has finally decided to add this messaging support to the iPhone in 2024.

Just to note, RCS is the standard used by most Android phones. That’s according to the report 9to5Mac.

“Late next year, we will add support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard currently published by the GSM Association,” Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy said in a statement also shared with The Vergequoted Saturday (18/11/2023).

“We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience compared to SMS or MMS. “It will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users,” he added.

iPhones that adopt RCS will later be able to enable support for encryption, read receipts, typing indicators, high-resolution images and videos, when sending messages between iPhone and Android devices.

Additionally, Apple will also allow users to share locations in text threads.

So far it is not known exactly how RCS messaging will work on the iPhone. However, it was reported 9to5Macin this case it’s not Apple that opens iMessage to platform otherwise, RCS will replace SMS and MMS, and is separate from iMessage.

This change made by Apple is thought to be a response to regulatory pressure from the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). These rules require large companies, such as Apple, to make their services interoperable platform another.