She needs to activate iMessage first.
Set up Messages on iPhone
Set up Messages and iMessage on iPhone to exchange text messages and other media.
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RCS Messaging in iOS 18: What iPhone Users Need to Know
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I'm from Denmark and no one here uses anything but iMessage or SMS that I know of. Yeah for some Facebook Messenger might be the way, but I will go a long way to stay as far from Zucker as possible
Not all of us are anti-social.
No they don't; a big chunk of high-schoolers, perhaps. 99.9% of adults, in the US, don't give a crap.
That said, my daughter (in high school) and the majority of her friends use Snapchat.
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That sounds right. Apple wants its users to feel superior, so they need to keep green bubbles. 'Cuz bLuE BubBLeS ArE BeTtER...
Reporting says that RCS messages on iPhone will still be green.
However, the color of RCS message bubbles on Android phones can be customized.
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Have been trying it out since beta 2 where the feature went live for many. The big massive improvement I've been hoping for is now you can optionally send images with meta data to Android users (like with iMessage). Before when sending it woud strip and the family member for instance would save the photo to add to their library but the date would be when they got it rather when it was taken. And like with iMessage, one can still choose to not include meta data on a case by case basis. Prior, there was to my knowledge no iPhone to Android popular tool for doing that. What's App sort of allowed it if you sent image as a document but majoy usability issues doing that method and not practical for non techies to send back.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a messaging standard Apple is adopting in iOS 18 that will revolutionize the messaging experience between iPhone and Android devices. Think of it as SMS 2.0 – a major upgrade to the traditional text messaging we've been using for years.
Key Features of RCS
Apple's decision to embrace RCS came last year after persistent persuasion from Google, which has been championing RCS adoption worldwide – and with good reason. Compared to MMS and SMS, the standards that Apple uses for text messages, RCS offers the following advantages:
RCS vs. iMessage: Bridging the Gap
- Higher quality photos and videos
- Larger file sizes for attachments
- Audio messages
- Improved group chats
- Read receipts and typing indicators
- Better encryption for chats between iPhone and Android users
- Cross-platform emoji reactions
- Location sharing within text threads
- Works over both cellular networks and Wi-Fi
While RCS offers many features that iPhone users have long enjoyed with iMessage, it's important to understand the differences between these two messaging protocols. The most significant advantage of RCS is its ability to work across different smartphone platforms.
Unlike iMessage, which is exclusive to Apple devices and creates the infamous "green bubble" effect when iPhone users text Android users, RCS aims to eliminate this disparity, creating a more unified messaging experience regardless of device type. That said, RCS messages will still appear as green bubbles in Apple's Messages app, but they will be accompanied by the label "Text Message – RCS" in the conversation thread to identify them.
In terms of features, RCS brings many of the capabilities iPhone users have come to expect from iMessage to cross-platform conversations. High-quality media sharing, read receipts, and typing indicators – all staples of the iMessage experience – will now be available when texting Android users through RCS. This marks a significant improvement in the messaging experience between different platforms.
When it comes to security though, iMessage still holds the upper hand. It offers end-to-end encryption for all communications between Apple devices. RCS, while offering improved encryption compared to traditional SMS, doesn't quite reach the same level of security as iMessage. However, it's a significant step up from the unencrypted SMS messages that have been the standard for cross-platform texting.
Another area where iMessage still maintains an edge is in its immediate availability across all Apple devices. RCS, on the other hand, depends on carrier support and implementation on both ends of the conversation. This means that while RCS promises a more unified messaging experience, its availability might not be as universal as iMessage is within the Apple ecosystem, at least initially.
Despite these differences, the adoption of RCS by Apple represents a major step towards bridging the gap between iMessage and Android messaging. While it may not completely eliminate the distinctions, it certainly narrows them considerably, promising a richer, more consistent messaging experience for all users, regardless of their choice of smartphone. In summary, here's a breakdown of what users can expect when messaging between iPhone and Android devices:
When Will iPhone Users Get RCS?
- Enhanced Media Sharing: No more tiny, pixelated photos or videos when sharing media with Android friends. RCS allows for higher resolution and larger file sizes.
- Rich Messaging Features: iPhone users will be able to see when Android users are typing, know when messages are read, and use emoji reactions in cross-platform conversations.
- Better Group Chats: Group conversations including both iPhone and Android users will be more cohesive, with features like naming group chats and adding/removing participants working smoothly across platforms.
- Wi-Fi Messaging: Like iMessage, RCS can work over Wi-Fi, allowing for messaging even without cellular service.
- Seamless Fallback: If RCS isn't available for some reason, the system will automatically fall back to SMS/MMS, ensuring messages always get through.
Apple plans to introduce RCS support with iOS 18, which is set for a general release in the fall. However, full functionality will depend on carrier support. The good news is that major U.S. carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T already support RCS.
If you have the third iOS 18 beta installed and you use one of the above carriers, you can try out RCS messaging support now by toggling the RCS Messaging switch in Settings ➝ Apps ➝ Messages ➝ RCS Messaging. iOS 18 beta 3 also rolls out RCS support to carriers in some other countries, such as Bell in Canada, Telefonica in Spain, and O2 in Germany.
The Future of RCS
Apple isn't stopping at just implementing RCS. The company plans to work with Google and other members of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) to further improve the RCS standard worldwide. This collaboration should lead to even more advanced features, such as the ability to edit and delete sent RCS messages.
Article Link: RCS Messaging in iOS 18: What iPhone Users Need to Know
Currently while it works sending to an Android user with Google Messages. When they send a photo, it still seems to be stripping data from the photo they send, but perhaps Google Messages hasn't updated yet. Also Verizon Messages doesn't yet seem to support RCS.
Finally, wouldn't recommend using it if using another app, since a major issue in at least beta 2 is when putting reactions to a message, it doesn't add it inline. It puts it at the very bottom, of the chat with no content or what the other use was reacting to specifically. But again presumably just an issue with the beta, and certainly will be fixed in the future.
That it may or may not work depending on the other users carrier/device is unfortunate, but still better than nothing, especially if most Android users you chat with have a supporting network/device.
I'd prefer to use Apple Messages, since the search feature works better than Facebook's offerings, and it integrates far better with Shortcuts/Focus States, CarPlay, Siri, etc, and easy of savings all images (and not duplicates) to Apple Photos, and most importantly being able to send full meta data on photos without having to do anything special. Would be great if you could have a custom background and default emoticon like Messenger.
The one issue many will face or decide to switch back to Apple Messages for Android conversations is if you have many years of conversations in Messenger/What's App that you reference often, with seemingly no way to migrate those message history to Apple Messages.
All depends where is "here" . In France we use both and WhatsApp for sending messages abroad when you don't know if the people are connected .
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I don't know how it will work on iPhone, but on my Android phone I can toggle those settings for all RCS conversations.
Blue has always meant Encrypted. RCS isn’t encrypted so it’s green. If RCS adds encryption in the future then expect a color change.
Apple could have implemented end-to-end encryption in RCS, just like Google did. They chose not to because they want iPhone users to feel superior so that they can gouge them more.
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I sincerely doubt that Apple will ever allow blue bubbles with non-Apple devices, unless they're forced to by some regulatory agency. They need those blue bubbles to make their users feel superior. This is why Apple refuses to release the iMessage app for Android: The purpose of the blue bubble color is mainly for iPhone users' ego and for Apple's balance sheet.
And Apple could have implemented end-to-end encryption in their RCS implementation if they wanted to. They chose not to because, again, they need their users to feel superior to everyone else.
That's a failed implementation on Apple's part. I can toggle "send read receipts" on or off from within the Google Message settings on my OnePlus Open.
Where have you read that RCS isn't or won't be encrypted on iOS devices? Everywhere I read its says that its end to end when both sender and receiver has it enabled.
So 10,000 people at google can read my post, but you're worried about another 10 or so while my message hops through the internet. Not sure that matters except to the uninformed.
Does everyone with an iPhone in a group have to have ios18? Have a friend in a specific group running an older device that likely wont support iOS18.
Where have you read that? I have never read that Apple-Android RCS messages will be encrypted.
RCS messages are encrypted if everyone in the chat is on an Android device, but from what I have read Apple was going to wait until the RCS standard is updated to require encryption -- which, given Apple's longstanding refusal/reluctance to engage with GSMA on this topic, probably won't be any time soon.
Hopefully. The article itself mentions that RCS is a less secure than iMessage, and that it relies on carrier implementation and Google. Users should have a visual cue that they're messaging within a less secure environment than iMessage, and the green bubbles do that, although I'm not opposed to three colors. Blue for secure iMessage, Green for cleartext SMS, Red or orange or something for RCS. Just so users are immediately aware of what level of protection their messages have.
Apple could easily fix this by allowing RCS apps from competitors on their App Store. But, of course, doing so would require them to give their users the choice to use something other than iMessage, so it will never happen.
RCS doesn’t offer encryption. Google’s extensions, which the GSMA aren’t going to adopt, offers the encryption.