Apple made the iPhone compatible with Rich Communication Services (RCS) with iOS 18. Users of iPhones and Android devices—at least those who use an RCS-compatible messaging app on their Android devices—can now transmit larger files, view typing indicators, exchange higher-quality photos, and receive read receipts.
End-to-end encryption is the single RCS feature that iPhone users cannot rely on. This is due to the fact that complete encryption is not a feature of the RCS version that Apple decided to enable.
The RCS protocol, which enables iOS and Android users to share the previously mentioned sophisticated messaging features within a cross-platform messaging session or group chat, was initially supported by T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T in the United States.
From the first big three, there are now 17 U.S. telecom providers that offer iOS-Android RCS texting. A list of all US carriers that provide this support has been made public by Apple and includes the following:
- AT&T
- Boost Mobile (requires iOS 18.2)
- C Spire
- Consumer Cellular
- Cricket
- FirstNet
- H20 Wireless
- Metro by T-Mobile
- PureTalk
- Red Pocket
- Spectrum Mobile
- T-Mobile
- TracFone / Straight Talk
- US Cellular
- Verizon
- Visible
- Xfinity Mobile
It is interesting to note that although T-Mobile is listed, some of the MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) it has purchased, such Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile, are not. We can not think of a reason why those two would be permanently barred from providing iOS-Android RCS functionality, given that they collectively account for roughly 3 million wireless consumers in the United States. Most likely, T-Mobile has not had a chance to arrange this for users of Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile.
The text field will display “Text Message + RCS.” If you have an iPhone and are a subscriber of one of the 17 wireless companies listed by Apple, you will be able to tell if you are messaging an Android user who is using Google Messages or another RCS messaging software.
You have three options if you live in the United States and use a lot of cross-platform messaging and your wireless provider is not on Apple’s list: wait for them to join, move to one of the 17 wireless providers on the list, or accept SMS/MMS quality messaging for the time being.
The ability to receive high-quality photographs and videos from someone on the other team who sent them is arguably the feature that iOS and Android customers are most pleased with out of all the new capabilities that Apple’s decision to allow RCS has brought about.
Without RCS, pictures sent from an Android phone to an iPhone would be sent via MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and SMS (Short Message Service), both of which rely on outdated technology. This explains why people who do not have RCS support see such awful graphics.
However, pictures shared from one RCS user to other RCS users and from one iMessage user to other iMessage users always look fantastic. There should be less concerns regarding cross-platform photos now that Apple supports RCS.
