Google may have just revealed when the iPhone will get RCS messaging support
Apple has already told us it will add support for the RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging standard on the iPhone sometime this year, and now Google may have just revealed when the update will happen in 2024.
A new landing page for Google Messages (via 9to5Google) says Apple will “adopt RCS in Fall 2024,” so we’re looking at September, October, or November. Spring is of course coming for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere.
Or at least that’s what the landing page originally said: it appears this particular piece of information has now been removed. Perhaps Apple would prefer if it could make the announcement itself, when the time comes.
That time window is obviously when we expect the iPhone 16 and iOS 18, so it makes sense that RCS support would be added at the same time that Apple unveils its latest smartphones and the latest software upgrade for those smartphones. We should hear more about iOS 18 during Apple’s WWDC 2024 event on June 10.
The benefits of RCS
The rest of the Google Messages homepage highlights the different features you get with the app on Android. One piece of text says that dynamic responses are “coming soon” with RCS, suggesting you’ll be able to respond to messages with a variety of visual effects on both Android and iOS (this is currently handled by the app itself, not RCS).
There are also mentions of some of the other features we’ve seen popping up in Google Messages recently, including Photomoji (which uses photos as stickers) and the option to let AI write your messages for you, if you’re lacking inspiration.
Spam blocking, end-to-end encryption and support for Wear OS devices are also getting a lot of attention. It’s a comprehensive overview of everything you get with RCS, which Google is pushing as a big improvement over the old SMS standard.
Having RCS support in the Messages app on iOS should mean a more seamless experience when chatting with people who aren’t on the same mobile platform as you – although Android users will still appear as green bubbles on iPhone.