RCS Coming to Messages in iOS 18 for Improved Texts With Android Users

[Aoligei]

iMessage does not, and never has to my knowledge, fallen back onto sending text or picture messages when your data signal is low. You need to select "send as text message" if it fails to deliver using data. As long that remains the same with RCS there is no problem.

If you select “send as SMS” option on Messages settings, then it will send as SMS when iMessage is not available. I have this enabled on my iPhone, this is why I get impression of iPhone default to SMS.

For Google’s message, when RCS is not available, it will default back to SMS, but it will tell you that the message was sent through SMS.

 

[ric22]

If you select “send as SMS” option on Messages settings, then it will send as SMS when iMessage is not available. I have this enabled on my iPhone, this is why I get impression of iPhone default to SMS.

For Google’s message, when RCS is not available, it will default back to SMS, but it will tell you that the message was sent through SMS.

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Yeah... as I said. You have to force it to use SMS on iPhone, but on (some?) Android devices it falls back on SMS automatically. If it did that with photos it could be expensive.

Edit: Sorry, I misunderstood one part. I indeed don't have that "Send as SMS" box ticked, so I've had to long hold on a message and click "send as SMS" in the past on a message that failed to send as an iMessage.

 

[Aoligei]

Yeah... as I said. You have to force it to use SMS on iPhone, but on (some?) Android devices it falls back on SMS automatically. If it did that with photos it could be expensive.

Edit: Sorry, I misunderstood one part. I indeed don't have that "Send as SMS" box ticked, so I've had to long hold on a message and click "send as SMS" in the past on a message that failed to send as an iMessage.

Like I said, Google Message does tell you if messages was sent through RCS or SMS. So you can minimize your cost.

 

[ric22]

Like I said, Google Message does tell you if messages was sent through RCS or SMS. So you can minimize your cost.

It tells you after you sent it.. after it potentially cost you money. If I was a parent I'd rather the current iMessage/SMS message set up.

 

[Aoligei]

It tells you after you sent it.. after it potentially cost you money. If I was a parent I'd rather the current iMessage/SMS message set up.

So prepaid services? My kid is 4 years old, when gets to age where he needs a phone, I will do prepaid.

It is not just about messaging, it is more about data overage.

 

[ric22]

So prepaid services? My kid is 4 years old, when gets to age where he needs a phone, I will do prepaid.

It is not just about messaging, it is more about data overage.

Prepaid vs post paid depends on the country. I have SIMs from both my 'home' countries, one post paid and one pre paid. Ironically my post paid account has a zero spend cap, so never costs me a penny more, but my post paid account is always in credit that can be burnt through easily, thanks to network top-up trickery.

I had to google the expression "data overage", as I'd never encountered it before. I'm immune to that anyway, between a zero spend cap on one SIM and on the other when I exceed my limit it just falls back to being extremely slow.

 

[Aoligei]

Prepaid vs post paid depends on the country. I have SIMs from both my 'home' countries, one post paid and one pre paid. Ironically my post paid account has a zero spend cap, so never costs me a penny more, but my post paid account is always in credit that can be burnt through easily, thanks to network top-up trickery.

I had to google the expression "data overage", as I'd never encountered it before. I'm immune to that anyway, between a zero spend cap on one SIM and on the other when I exceed my limit it just falls back to being extremely slow.

Here in Canada, prepaid service is what you get for what you paid. If your plan doesn’t have data, you get no data. If you used up your data, you gets no data. Etc.

Most of Canadian phone plan have unlimited text messaging anyway, so it is not concern over here.

What expensive here is data.

 

[tehabe]

The reason some on this forum are complaining & moaning is because RCS is associated with android & they don’t won’t that thing anywhere near there precious Apple devices.

if it weren't so sad …

 

[ric22]

Here in Canada, prepaid service is what you get for what you paid. If your plan doesn’t have data, you get no data. If you used up your data, you gets no data. Etc.

Most of Canadian phone plan have unlimited text messaging anyway, so it is not concern over here.

What expensive here is data.

In Europe and Asia costs have plummeted. It's all cheap. I get unlimited calls and texts in both SIMs, and 12/16GB of fast data, for about $10US on each.

However, if you call a foreign number or accidentally send a photo over SMS, that's expensive. 😅

When I lived in China pre-Covid I paid $4 a month for 30GB of data on China Unicom, which was a special data only deal. I've heard horror stories from North America...

 

[Aoligei]

In Europe and Asia costs have plummeted. It's all cheap. I get unlimited calls and texts in both SIMs, and 12/16GB of fast data, for about $10US on each.

However, if you call a foreign number or accidentally send a photo over SMS, that's expensive. 😅

When I lived in China pre-Covid I paid $4 a month for 30GB of data on China Unicom, which was a special data only deal. I've heard horror stories from North America...

To be fair, the cost of mobile in Canada has came down. I am currently paying $34 dollars for 70GB data. I really never used up the whole amount anyway.

 

[Scotty2Hotty]

I think we can all agree... SMS has to go. Won't happen in a year, but it should be a 5-10 year plan. Millions of devices still use it and it'll take a while to deprecate it. There's no security in the protocol, and it therefore has no place in modern messaging infrastructure. This is a step towards that end goal.

 

[SMH4KIDIOT]

It tells you after you sent it.. after it potentially cost you money. If I was a parent I'd rather the current iMessage/SMS message set up.

You can disable or enable auto send as SMS on android too.

 

[DakotaGuy]

It doesn't "fall back" and never sends an sms automatically. It allows you the option to select it(or at least it did, back in the days non-Americans used iMessage.)

RCS works the same on my Samsung phone in Google Messages. If it can't be sent with RCS to someone who has a compatible device it'll ask if I want to send with SMS/MMS instead. If I don't tell it to it'll send it next time it can connect with them. I believe there is a setting to have it do it automatically, but you can have it set up where you must give it permission.

 

[Scotty_Trees]

ew no thanks. I'm turning this off the moment it's introduced.

RCS is terrible. wish Apple would not support this. it's confusing as hell and locks in consumers to carriers. who thought this was a good idea? terrible protocol 🤦‍♂️

What a terrible day to be literate.

 

[Straight Flush]

Does anybody know if RCS messages to Android phones are end-to-end encrypted?

 

[DakotaGuy]

Does anybody know if RCS messages to Android phones are end-to-end encrypted?

RCS messages sent to and from Android phones using Google Messages are E2E encrypted. RCS messages coming in from another source are encrypted in transit, but it's not E2E encrypted. I'd assume since Apple is just using the universal RCS profile and not adding an encryption extension onto it like Google did it won't be E2E encrypted.

So for example if I'm on an Android phone using Google Messages to another Android phone it'll be E2E encrypted. If I'm messaging an iPhone it'll have all of the same features, minus E2E encryption. Even without E2E encryption RCS is still a much more secure way to text versus SMS/MMS which literally sends plain text the whole way and could be easily intercepted by anyone.

 

[spinedoc77]

I can say for a fact that you’re VASTLY overestimating the so-called stigma of android texting vs iMessage.

Unless you’re living in some kind of echo chamber, people buy the phones they want to buy, regardless of OH NOEZ THE GREEN BUBBLES! Which, by the way, are staying. It’s still (to my knowledge) blue only for actual iMessages, RCS like SMS is green.

I see it as the opposite, you are VASTLY underestimating the stigma. It's not the actual color of the bubble, well maybe if you are in middle school, but using some basic common sense and you realize it's what that green bubble brings to the table. Pi$$ poor pictures and video, issues with group chats, no extra functionality like tapbacks and other functions, no facetime, etc. THAT is the stigma you get, someone looking at their iPhone and thinking they don't want to deal with that green bubble because it brings technical and functional issues.

For me, as an Android user, I find it quite painful to make the decision to buy Android exactly because all my friends and family have iPhones, so communicating with them is very difficult. I have to jump through hoops to make it work, namely I have the BlueBubbles app which needs a MacOS hardware server running 24/7 and an old SIM hacked iPhone 6 running 24/7, what consumer would go to all that trouble?!? THe point is, without that technical know how and resources, Android users just look crappy to the iPhone world and THAT's the stigma.

 

[spinedoc77]

I personally feel that most of the debate is being driven by a few that for some reason feel this might sell a few more Android phones. Since coming out and saying that makes one look a like they value a corporation over actual human experience we get all kinds of bizarre reasons why this is such a bad thing. Apple will be just fine and the effect it'll have on sales will be virtually zero.

I look forward to anything that improves a communication experience and RCS versus SMS/MMS does that when using the stock message app. I'd say about 1/3 of the people I text have Android phones and living in the US the vast majority just use stock texting apps for most day to day communication. I also use Snapchat and Facebook Messenger, but text messages are still the default way I communicate. This is a good thing.

Users aside, apparently Apple does think this would affect their sales. Their management admitted to using iMessage as a lock in to their walled garden and admitted it would lessen that lock in effect. It's obvious they continue to maintain that business belief and are only budging because China, one of their largest markets, is making it mandatory. As an armchair quarterback I would trust Apple's business analysts and management to know what's good for them, and if they think it will affect sales I believe them.

Aside from that, just my personal opinion, Android phones have made huge leaps and bounds. Pixels, Samsung, OnePlus, etc have all improved so much and in many ways offer different paradigms than Apple does. I do think consumers have much more viable choices and if they weren't tied to iMessage that might be one of the factors they consider the next time they are up for buying a phone. Maybe not *the* factor, and maybe not even the most important factor, but it just might be on their list, I know it's most definitely on my list as someone who struggles to communicate with family and friends all on iPhones.

 

[Harthag]

I've been happily using BlueBubbles on my S24+ via M2 Mac Mini server w/ private API features enabled. Works like a dream and I get the best of both worlds using iMessage with my Apple folks and RCS with Android folks. I will probably keep using this method rather than RCS messaging with iOS users. No one has received any malware or virus from my filthy Android infiltrating their iPhones. No one's iPhone has spontaneously combusted. All who get riled up over this are just sad, sad individuals. Enhancing communication and privacy for all users Android and iOS is a good thing.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I still wish that incoming RCS text get a new color, preferably orange, to denote the difference SMS and iMessage text.

 

[dumastudetto]

I don't like that Apple has effectively been forced to support this horrible technology. If people want Apple Messages capabilities, buy an iPhone.

Be careful using RCS anyway because it won't be encrypted end-to-end.

 

[Harthag]

I don't like that Apple has effectively been forced to support this horrible technology. If people want Apple Messages capabilities, buy an iPhone.

Be careful using RCS anyway because it won't be encrypted end-to-end.

You do realize this is all Apple's own doing? They've been the company holding up progress for the sake of consumer lock-in. I don't blame Apple, it's smart business. But people shouldn't need to buy an iPhone to be able to communicate securely or share high quality media. Regardless, let whoever wants to see my messages have at them. I never share sensitive info over messaging. They'll get a whole lot of dog photos and videos for their efforts.

 

[spinedoc77]

I've been happily using BlueBubbles on my S24+ via M2 Mac Mini server w/ private API features enabled. Works like a dream and I get the best of both worlds using iMessage with my Apple folks and RCS with Android folks. I will probably keep using this method rather than RCS messaging with iOS users. No one has received any malware or virus from my filthy Android infiltrating their iPhones. No one's iPhone has spontaneously combusted. All who get riled up over this are just sad, sad individuals. Enhancing communication and privacy for all users Android and iOS is a good thing.

BlueBubbles is great but it still has it's drawbacks. If your power or ISP go out then you lose your messaging completely. It's not 100% reliable, you can have a Cloudflare outage or sometimes Cloudflare just likes to have issues (for example it conflicts with having a private DNS). The MAJOR drawback, IMO, is you can't use your carrier phone number to send/receive texts, you have to use your email. Of course this is hackable, you can use an old iPhone with the SIM swap trick as I do, but who the heck (besides me...sigh) goes to that much trouble. THIS is why the entire Beeper fiasco was so incredible, you were able to both use your phone number AND not need a 24/7 server.

But yeah, not downplaying BlueBubbles at all, what they have achieved is incredible but I have a feeling will shrink quite rapidly once RCS is on the table. Also 100% agree on the sadness and irony of those getting riled up over this, it's something I can't quite understand.

 

[SMH4KIDIOT]

I don't like that Apple has effectively been forced to support this horrible technology. If people want Apple Messages capabilities, buy an iPhone.

Be careful using RCS anyway because it won't be encrypted end-to-end.

Your SMS messages to contacts on Android are currently not encrypted at all.

With RCS those same messages are encrypted in transit, so which is better?

 

[dumastudetto]

Your SMS messages to contacts on Android are currently not encrypted at all.

With RCS those same messages are encrypted in transit, so which is better?

I don't contact people on Android. Some may have my contact information if they switched to Android, but they are blocked from contacting me once I see they are not on Messages.