Did Google just pre-empt Apple’s big announcement? An Android developer has just released an update Google News landing pageshowing an important features, from personalization, privacy and security, to artificial intelligence.
This landing page has different sections for every feature set, including one for RCS. As noted by 9to5Google, in case you expand this list of RCS features and scroll down, you will see a piece titled “Coming Soon to iOS: Better Messaging for Everyone.” This is not any surprise: we all know that Apple has been implementing RCS since November. However, the following line brings this news: “Apple announced that it will implement RCS in the fall of 2024.”
Has it? Sure, the corporate committed to bringing RCS to iPhones, however the last time it discussed the subject, it only mentioned that support would arrive later this 12 months. The company never said anything specific When we’ll get RCS throughout the 12 months, so Google’s announcement, nevertheless subtle, is big news.
Why is RCS for iPhone such a giant deal?
Currently, Apple only supports the long-obsolete SMS and MMS protocols when sending SMS from third-party smartphones. (AKA green bubbles.) SMS/MMS leads to poor quality images, terrifying high-quality videos, problems with group chats and, worst of all, poor security because it isn’t end-to-end encrypted (E2EE). On the opposite hand, RCS is a more moderen messaging protocol that gives modern features corresponding to E2EE, typing indicators, high-quality images and videos, and streamlined group chats. Unlike iMessage, it is also platform-agnostic: in case your texting app and carrier support RCS, you may easily send messages to other numbers on the platform.
However, Apple doesn’t currently support RCS, so until they do, it will be SMS/MMS. This reluctance to offer up texting is why sending text messages to Android from iPhone is so difficult. It’s not your friend’s fault: it’s Apple’s fault. You can read more about RCS on iPhone and why it’s such a giant deal here.
RCS could also be a feature of iOS 18
If Apple is indeed planning to launch RCS in fall 2024, it strongly suggests that adoption will be a feature of iOS 18. Apple often releases its major iOS update in September, so it’s likely that the corporate plans to make RCS support available as a part of that launch. Of course, there could at all times be an update like iOS 18.1 or 18.2 available, but let one hold out hope: if RCS is a component of iOS 18, which means it could possibly be within the iOS 18 beta that Apple will make available to developers (and anyone who dares install it) after the software is announced at WWDC 2024.
There is probability – a probability— we could have RCS support on iPhone from June 10. If that is true, you may ensure that I will install iOS 18 Developer Beta 1 as soon because it is released.
Credit : lifehacker.com
