Hell Freezes Over, Apple to Support RCS on iPhone

Apple today confirmed that it will add Rich Communications Services (RCS) support to the iPhone in 2024 to improve communications interoperability with Android. And, of course, to comply with new European regulations like the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

“Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association,” an Apple statement reads. “We believe the RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS. This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”

That last bit is likely important: Apple could have simply made iMessage compatible with RCS, which would have ended this drama once and for all. But instead, RCS will work alongside SMS and MMS in the iPhone’s Messages app as an option for users who text with non-iPhone users. So this won’t really end the “blue bubble, green bubble” silliness.

Like iMessage, RCS supports high-resolution media, audio messages, read receipts, and other advanced features that SMS/MMS lack. But unlike iMessage, RCS is also an international standard for text messaging, and it’s used by most of the non-Apple world, including in Android.

Well, this will be interesting.