If the new report is correct, Apple iMessage will soon change beyond recognition. And the changes will not only affect how easy the app is to use on iPhone, but also for friends who have Android phones. And it looks like it could keep Apple out of trouble in the Justice Department’s recent antitrust case against the company.
Apple iMessage is about to get a makeover.
Updated June 7 with details on security benchmarks between RCS and other platforms for users.
On Monday, June 10, Apple is expected to announce the availability of RCS messages for the iPhone. Things could still change before the keynote starts at 10am Pacific, as there’s a lot to cram into the announcement, or it could even be saved for a separate reveal, but next Monday seems the most likely.
We’ve known for a while that RCS support is coming, but the timing, if right, is big news, as Apple previously only committed to late 2024.
Rich Communication Services messaging is an advanced form of text messaging currently used on Android phones and means that messages sent between iPhones and Android phones gain additional functionality that previously could not be bridged from one platform to another.
Not only does this suggest that the inexorable shift of users from iMessage to apps like WhatsApp could be slowed, it could actually shift traffic in the opposite direction. As msn.com states: “The implications of RCS integration go beyond aesthetics and functionality. Many users, especially in regions outside the United States, have opted for WhatsApp as a platform-agnostic solution that works seamlessly across multiple devices. With RCS, iMessage could potentially offer similar, if not better, functionality, giving iPhone users a compelling reason to switch back from WhatsApp to iMessage.”
WhatsApp is available on iPhones and Android devices alike, not to mention PCs and Macs, though there is still no dedicated iPad app, which is still a big deal for many.
The report also suggests, correctly I think, that Apple’s move to incorporate RCS “could potentially change the competitive landscape of mobile messaging.”
RCS does not offer the same level of security as end-to-end encrypted services such as iMessage and WhatsApp. The SMS that Apple currently uses for messages from Android phones in iMessage is the reason why when an iPhone user receives a message from an Android phone, it appears in green instead of blue. Something that led to some users seeing the blue bubbles as taller than the green ones.
As Forbes Contributor Zak Doffman notes that RCS is more secure than SMS, so those green bubbles in iMessage will be more secure once the new RCS features are implemented than they are now. Blue bubbles are of course much safer.
I think MSN is right, and that while RCS can’t compete with some other services in terms of security, RCS-enabled iMessage has so many other benefits, many iPhone users will leave WhatsApp and others for Apple’s core service. device. And it has those blue bubbles.
This change will mean, as Abrar Al-Heeti comments on CNet, “it will make texting less archaic for Android users.” When using an Android phone, the writer’s friends would “condemn the confusion I would cause in any text or group chat by “turns everything green”. Apparently, there’s nothing worse for an iMessage user than an Android user crashing their precious blue bubble party.”
The report goes on to list some of the changes — I’ve listed more below — that are on the horizon: “Some features will remain exclusive to iMessage or the Google Messages app. For example, while you can edit or unsend texts in iMessage, you likely won’t be able to do so for messages sent via RCS. And Google News-exclusive features like Gemini AI-powered text generation probably won’t carry over between devices, either. It is also not yet clear whether messages sent via Android phones and iPhones will be end-to-end encrypted.”
RCS is much more sophisticated and capable than SMS, which is limited to 160 characters, isn’t great with media, and has no encryption, for example.
If you’re texting from one iPhone to another, it’s of little interest because Apple’s iMessage has so many great features—like a typing indicator that lets you know the other party is reading your message, or funky extras like balloons or confetti that fill the screen.
The problem is that these features don’t play well with Android phones, and it’s one of the reasons why many people, especially outside the United States, have migrated to the platform-agnostic WhatsApp.
However, the move to adopt RCS was welcomed by many, including Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO of messaging business RCS Dotgo, who described it as “a huge win for Apple customers and a game changer for the messaging ecosystem”.
So, what will this mean? Once they arrive, features found on each platform separately will be available on both. Android users will be able to share their location with iPhone users within text message threads, there will be typing indicators common to all users, and confirmations that show your messages have been read. There will be better media sharing and better encryption.
Oh, and one more thing about the green bubbles: Apple said that even if it adopted RCS, “Blue bubbles will still be used to represent iMessages, while green bubbles will represent RCS messages,” as reported by 9to5Mac.