Apple will add support for the RCS messaging standard on iPhones next year. A company spokesperson confirmed this to TechRadar and 9to5Mac. This standard should continue to exist alongside iMessage.

RCS will be added to iPhones via a software update “later next year,” the spokesperson said. Tech Radar And 9to5Mac. “We believe the global RCS profile provides better interoperability than SMS or MMS.” The standard should be available “in addition to iMessage” as a separate service. SMS and MMS will also remain available as an alternative.

The addition of this standard should enhance collaboration between messaging apps on iPhone and Android devices. For example, Android and Apple users will be able to send each other high-quality videos and photos without using an additional app. Users of different operating systems can also share their locations with each other and things like read receipts and typing indicators become visible. Unlike SMS and MMS, RCS also works over WiFi or mobile data.

However, unlike iMessage, RCS does not yet offer end-to-end encryption as standard. Apple says that, unlike Google, it will not add an encryption layer to RCS itself, but will instead work with the GSM Association to make encryption a standard part of RCS.

RCS has been seen as “SMS 2.0” for many years and Google has been supporting the standard in Android for several years, but Apple has not wanted to support it until now. In September 2022, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted that there would be no support for RCS in iPhones because users don’t want Apple to spend power on it. Google and Samsung have already begun campaigns to convince Apple to support the standard. Earlier this month, Google and some European providers also called for iMessage to be covered under the Digital Markets Act. As a result, Apple must, among other things, make interoperability possible.