Thanks to Apple: RCS shipments in the USA have risen sharply
Google has been trying for years to persuade Apple to use the SMS successor Rich Communication Services. This is now bearing fruit.
Communication desired: iOS and Android combined with RCS.
(Image: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com)
Since iOS 18, it has been possible for the first time to send and receive not only SMS, MMS and iMessage messages with Apple's Messages app on the iPhone, but also messages in accordance with the Rich Communication Services standard, or RCS for short – although not initially with all German carriers. Apple's decision, for which Google, among others, had lobbied for many years, now seems to be paying off for the implementation of the technology.
“Messaging standard for Android and iOS”
As Apple announced this week, one billion RCS messages are now sent every day in the United States of America alone. This was calculated as an average of 28 days. “This means that more people can send high-quality photos and videos and add people to group chats without them being interrupted,” writes the internet giant. Over the past few years, the focus has been on connecting people better, “no matter what phone they have”. That is why they have tried to make RCS the “messaging standard for Android and iOS”.
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Google now sees its efforts confirmed, even if the functionality has not yet been fully distributed. For example, general end-to-end encryption, which was available with iMessage from the outset, will not be available until later. Other useful functions, including the subsequent editing and recalling of messages, will only be available with RCS Universal Profile 3.0, which is not expected to be released until iOS 19 in the fall at the earliest.
Missing features that Google already has
The lack of protection through end-to-end encryption means that network operators and other organizations with access to the mobile network have similarly easy access to RCS as they do to completely unencrypted SMS. Google, on the other hand, already offers RCS encryption between Android devices thanks to its infrastructure.
Furthermore, RCS messages in the Messages app are displayed in a special color – the famous “green bubbles” – just like SMS and MMS. Only Apple's iMessage messages are given the familiar blue coloring, so users can still see who has an iPhone (or an iPad, an Apple Watch or a Mac) and who does not. This is unlikely to change.
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