Apple announces RCS support in iOS 18 release.

It’s finally happening — Apple announced they intend to support RCS in 2024 as part of the iOS 18 release, and in the last month they deployed a beta version of RCS on iPhones giving customers and businesses access to this new piece of development. Keep reading to find out what we know so far and what this means for the future of business messaging.

When will Apple support RCS?

Apple is bringing Rich Communication Services (RCS) to iPhone in 2024 with the release of its iOS 18 operating system this fall.

Speaking in November 2023, Apple's director of communications said that Apple RCS support would arrive on iPhone in 2024, “later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association”.

This means that, after years of frustration, owners of the competing operating systems could finally enjoy seamless multimedia messaging without downloading third-party apps. And then things all went a bit quiet—until now.

At its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), quietly reassuring us that Apple RCS support was indeed still coming. However, it only alluded to support for person-to-person (P2P) conversations, with no mention of RCS business messaging (RBM).

A brief timeline of RCS

• 2008—the GSMA* launches the original RCS protocol standard

• 2015—Google teams up with GSMA to bring RCS to Android OS

• 2016—Google releases RCS as a P2P solution to the public

• 2019—RCS natively integrates with the Google Messages app

• 2020—Samsung adds Google RCS chat support to its devices

• 2023—Apple announces support for RCS support on iPhone

• 2024—Apple reconfirms support for RCS at WWDC in June

• 2024—The iOS 18 beta launches with RCS support in July

*The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) is a non-profit organization that unites more than 1000 global mobile operators around a vision for positive social change and meaningful business innovation.

Apple support RCS iOS 18 beta

Apple recently released their iOS 18 beta, so if you were wondering, is RCS on iOS 18 beta? We are delighted to say that it is! This is great news for the many businesses already using RCS, enabling them to reach a significant new audience when the final iOS 18 build releases later this fall.

It’s important to note that Apple is still making active changes, here’s what we know so far that's included in this RCS iOS 18 beta:

Will iMessage switch to RCS?

No, but the two protocols will now work seamlessly together to strengthen the messaging experience for everyone. And if industry observers are correct, Apple’s expected use of RCS Universal Profile 2.4 will welcome a huge new audience of RCS business users to the iPhone community.

Why now is Apple supporting RCS?

Apple devices use the proprietary iMessage format. This means when iPhone users text other iPhone users with the device’s default texting app, they can enjoy RCS-like messaging features. However, until iOS 18 launches, they cannot do the same when texting Android devices due to iPhone incompatibility with the RCS standard.

So why has Apple decided to change that by supporting RCS?

Compliance with EU regulations

Apple’s decision to support RCS was likely accelerated by the EU’s updated Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act. These regulations aim to stop businesses from imposing unfair restrictions on consumers, such as limiting access to services like RCS. Failure to comply can result in fines costing up to 20% of the company’s revenue.

Enhanced user experience

Today, when Android users text iPhone users with their device’s default messaging app, iMessage reverts to legacy SMS and MMS texting protocols. This wouldn’t be so bad were it not for the absence of end-to-end encryption, pixelated image sharing, the inability to leave group chats, and inconsistent support for Wi-Fi and cellular network messaging.

iMessage also infamously turns any Android contact’s messaging bubble green instead of blue. This has driven some iPhone loyalists to dismiss green bubble texts altogether, which can be hugely problematic for businesses reaching out to iPhone users from an Android platform.

With RCS support on iOS devices, you can expect a much more seamless messaging experience between Apple and Android devices.

To build trust and counter fraud

SMS is relied upon by many businesses to reach both Android and Apple devices. However, unlike RCS, the lack of support for in-channel branding and verified business checkmarks makes SMS much harder for customers to detect phishing attempts—something Apple is no doubt keen to change.

We believe 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

Jacqueline Roy, Senior Director, Communications at Apple.

What does Apple RCS support on iPhone mean for you?

It may seem quaint given its 1992 vintage, but SMS remains the most effective and direct way to reach your customers globally. While 55% of all SMS messages are read, it’s likely that 100% are acknowledged through preview windows and notifications.

Now, imagine if there was a channel with a comparable reach that democratized access to rich, app-like messaging features. That’s RCS—and it’s poised to grow massively following the launch of iOS 18.

Similar to iMessage, RCS includes features such as:

• Typing indicators, read receipts, and time stamps

• Suggested replies through pre-populated action buttons

• Share high-definition multimedia

• A branded business profile

With healthy support from major phone companies like Google, Samsung, and Huawei— and carriers like Vodafone and O2—there are now more than 1 billion active RCS users worldwide. This makes it an ideal candidate for conversational messaging journeys that engage customers with timely, contextual interactions.

So, when RCS comes to iPhone, you can use the same interactive components and content without segmenting your audiences by device or reconfiguring campaigns for specific channels. For example, your business teams could use RCS to:

• Help customers take instant advantage of personalized offers with a single button press, such as adding loyalty points to a digital wallet

• Share image carousels that let customers browse goods, and with the right payment integrations, purchase them without leaving the conversation

• Automate proactive updates that inform customers and include suggested self-service actions, such as requesting a delivery is left in their safe place

Learn how Southwark Council used RCS to help eliminate fraudulent phishing scams, increase customer engagement for debt collections, and build community trust with RCS.

Seize our 6+ years expertize with RCS

RCS is a powerful channel that’s easily added to your messaging toolkit with a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solution. As one of its earliest adopters, we have many years’ experience helping businesses like yours realize the full potential of RCS messaging.

• Webex Connect is an enterprise-grade CPaaS platform that lets you build and automate joined up customer journeys across multiple channels, including RCS, from a single cloud-based solution. It also integrates with your back-office systems, such as your CRM, to enable a real-time exchange of granular insights to help you personalize every interaction.

• We can help you leverage RCS using our library of pre-built APIs. This makes it easy to add new digital channels to your existing applications without making dramatic changes to backend systems.

• We also offer Branded Text, a light version of RCS for adding verified branding to your texts without requiring technical changes to your back-office systems.

• Plus, our relationships with many of the world’s largest network carriers ensure secure, high-performance messaging for every user—underpinned by Tier 1 connectivity across the UK, US, and Canada.

Speak to an RCS expert

This is just a peek at what you can achieve when RCS joins the Apple iPhone family of channels later this year. If you want to find out more please get in touch.

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