Apple’s decision to implement RCS comes as competitors such as Google and Samsung have long encouraged the company to adopt a more adaptable messaging system. — Photo by Kamran Abdullayev on Unsplash
Messaging between iPhone and Android devices is about to become much smoother.
Apple on Thursday announced it plans to adopt the Rich Communication Services messaging standard, which will introduce a number of iMessage features to cross-platform messaging between iPhone and Android users, according to reports. These features include read receipts, location sharing, typing indicators and high-resolution videos and photos. RCS can also work over both Wi-Fi and mobile data, according to reports.
Apple’s decision to implement RCS comes as competitors such as Google and Samsung have long encouraged the company to adopt a more adaptable messaging system.
RCS won’t replace SMS completely, though. Instead, it will be adopted separately from the current SMS/MMS technology, in which messages appear in a “green bubble” when sent between iPhone and Android users. SMS/MMS will continue to be the platform used for all messaging between iPhone users, but RCS will supersede SMS/MMS messaging when available, according to reports.
Apple’s addition of RCS messaging will be implemented “later next year,” and will “offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS,” an Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac.com, which first reported the news. – cleveland.com/Tribune News Service
