Apple Software Update

Good news is coming to your group chat. Today, Apple announced that it will add support for the RCS messaging standard to the iPhone. As reported by the website 9to5Mac, Apple plans to release a software update in the coming year to bring support for the messaging standard, which is already widely used by Android phones, to iOS.

RCS, or Rich Communications Standard, represents a significant upgrade from the SMS and MMS messaging standards that have been in use on smartphones since their inception. With RCS, users can enjoy advanced features beyond SMS and MMS, such as the ability to share high-resolution photos and videos, read receipts, and the option to easily include emojis and GIFs in conversations. Additionally, RCS offers enhanced security features that the older messaging standards lack.

While Apple has traditionally favored its own iMessage platform over RCS, this has created compatibility issues for Android users and caused frustration in cross-platform group chats. Videos shared between iOS and Android tend to have lower quality and limited bandwidth, and there are often glitches in group chats, resulting in missed messages and absent emojis.

For years, Apple has relied on SMS and MMS as a bridge between these messaging platforms. However, with the upcoming support for RCS, Apple will no longer need this older bridge, potentially signaling the eventual demise of SMS.

Anshel Sag, a principal analyst at technology analyst firm Moor Insights and Strategy, commented on the situation, stating that "It’s long been time for SMS to go away. Now SMS can die, it can be sunset. So all the viruses and all the security flaws that are due to SMS can be eliminated."

Although the implementation of RCS support by Apple is not immediate, the company has stated that it will arrive in the later half of next year. This timing suggests that RCS support may coincide with the release of the next version of iOS, typically rolled out in September.

This upcoming support for RCS demonstrates a shift in Apple's previous stance, which seemed to dismiss the idea of supporting RCS on the iPhone. A year ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook even humorously suggested that users should "buy your mom an iPhone" if they were experiencing difficulties in communicating across different devices. However, mounting pressure and evolving compatibility between the platforms have likely influenced Apple's decision to implement RCS.

Google made a public effort last year to convince Apple to adopt RCS, though it did not seem to have a significant impact. However, the European Union's recently enacted Digital Markets Act, which promotes greater interoperability between messaging services, appears to have influenced Apple's change in strategy.

The extent of Apple's support for RCS remains unclear. Apple has a history of complying with legal requirements while expressing reservations about change. For example, when faced with similar EU legislation regarding repair services, Apple underwent an expensive process that necessitated users to carry bulky equipment. Furthermore, Apple resisted transitioning the iPhone's charging ports to the widely adopted USB-C standard until legislation mandated the change earlier this year. Apple has not provided further details regarding this RCS implementation.

It is also uncertain whether this change will result in the disappearance of the green chat bubbles that signify messages from Android users in iOS. Chats between iPhone users appear in blue-shaded bubbles while messages from Android users are displayed in green bubbles. However, some experts believe that Apple may still try to visually differentiate between the two platforms even after implementing RCS support on the iPhone.