Unless you live a truly Apple-less existence — and frankly, more power to you — you probably know WWDC 2024 kicked off today. Even if it’s an event that doesn’t particularly matter to Android users, there usually are a handful of features that matter outside of the iPhone’s mythical bubble. iOS 18 might be centered around AI experiences and copying plenty from Android’s customization playbook, but it’s also getting a feature that everyone, no matter what phone you have, should benefit from: RCS.
Yes, after years of complaints from Android and iOS users alike — not to mention an entire PR campaign put on by Google — RCS support is officially baked into this fall’s iPhone upgrade. Unsurprisingly, today’s keynote went on without much of a mention of this tool, quickly getting an on-screen appearance right at the end of the iOS 18 section of WWDC. Still, it confirmed what most of us assumed after last year’s promise to support RCS in 2024: it’s launching alongside iOS 18 this fall.
Apple’s website for its latest iOS preview breaks down the feature a bit more specifically, noting RCS is designed to bring “richer media and deliver and read receipts for those who don’t use iMessage.” That’s as polite a way to describe Android users as I’ve ever seen Apple make. The company also included a single screenshot of RCS in action, showing a high-res photo, a voice recording, delivery receipts, and — sigh — radioactive green bubbles. At least that last one won’t affect anyone actually using an Android phone as their daily driver.
Unfortunately, although Apple usually delivers a metric ton of footnotes further explaining specific iOS features at the bottom of its roundup page — and this year is no different — RCS doesn’t get any additional explanation or information. There have been plenty of unanswered questions since last fall’s surprise announcement regarding RCS, and that includes just how it’ll interact with Google’s implementation of the standard. While Android does use Universal Profile, some features, most notably end-to-end encryption, are custom-built for Messages.
We’ll likely have to wait for further word from Apple — and, potentially, Google — though there are some clues on how exactly RCS in iOS 18 will work. Earlier today, Mishaal Rahman at Android Authority unearthed a video from December featuring a Google engineer discussing Apple’s forthcoming implementation of RCS, specifically noting it would support Universal Profile 2.4, which supports features like RCS Business Messaging (or RBM). That said, we’re talking about an external Development Manager at Google answering a question six months ago, so it’s very possible that Apple’s plans have since changed.
Either way, this should be good news for Android users going forward, so long as Apple works to play nicely with Google Messages. And considering just how many of this year’s iMessage features are taken directly from Android — including scheduled messages, and full emoji tapback support — one might say it’s yet another example of Apple being late to the modern messaging party in 2024.
