RCS on the iPhone is almost the solution to our green-bubble nightmare

The photos aren’t blurry! As a longtime iPhone idiosyncratic joined to a longtime Android user, I’ve spent years sending and receiving photos that travel done some postage-stamp tiny and astir arsenic crisp arsenic a pointillist painting. But a fewer minutes aft I installed the iOS 18 beta connected my iPhone 15 Pro, I asked Anna to nonstop maine a photo, and what came done was the blissfully high-res photograph I’d hoped for. That, close there, is what I telephone an upgrade.

RCS support is conscionable 1 of the caller things coming successful iOS 18, of course. At WWDC a fewer weeks ago, Apple talked a batch astir homescreen customization, improvements to Siri, a revamped Photos app, and more. The institution seems to person added enactment for RCS, a much modern and almighty messaging protocol that Google and others person adopted connected Android, lone arsenic a begrudging gesture to regulators — it lone mentioned the diagnostic successful passing, astatine the precise extremity of its iOS announcements. But for galore iPhone users, and surely for the billions of Android users who interact with those iPhone users, RCS is simply a large deal.

RCS is not, however, a salve for each the world’s messaging problems. For one, the greenish bubble lives on. It’s not adjacent a antithetic shadiness erstwhile you’re utilizing RCS; it’s inactive conscionable a greenish bubble. The iPhone’s instrumentality connected RCS is besides not encrypted, due to the fact that Apple is utilizing the basal RCS modular — known arsenic the RCS Universal Profile — and not Google’s much unafraid implementation. RCS is not “iMessage for Android.” It’s not going to person the billions of WhatsApp users astir the satellite to switch. It’s conscionable “better SMS.” But it is much, overmuch amended SMS.

When you’re RCS-ing, green-bubble texting gets a batch better. Both Android and iPhone users get typing indicators, work receipts, high-res media, and everything other you’d expect from a half-decent messaging app. Even the Tapback responses enactment decently now, arsenic agelong arsenic you’re utilizing the modular options — !!, thumbs up, that benignant of thing. In iOS 18, you tin present nonstop any emoji arsenic a Tapback, which works good betwixt iPhones but present prompts that annoying “David reacted 🍝 to ‘What bash you privation for meal tonight’” substance successful Google Messages. Google volition presumably hole that successful clip — the Messages app has been solving for annoying, iMessage-using iPhone users for a portion — but for now, it’s a small wonky.

It appears Apple sees its messaging protocols arsenic a three-tier system. Best-case scenario, it’s 2 Apple devices communicating, and Apple defaults to iMessage. If not, it goes to RCS. And if RCS isn’t available, either due to the fact that carriers don’t enactment it oregon there’s nary information work oregon for immoderate different reason, it’ll autumn backmost to lowly SMS. It’s astute of Apple to not ditch SMS entirely, but hopefully starting this fall, you’ll ne'er request to usage it again.

For now, though, I’m inactive successful SMS onshore a lot. The archetypal clip you nonstop idiosyncratic a connection from your iPhone, it seems to mostly nonstop it arsenic an SMS; arsenic soon arsenic they reply, immoderate transportation gets made, and it’s RCS from past on, astatine slightest until there’s a lull successful the speech and it seems to flip backmost to SMS. (You tin ever spot what benignant of connection you’re sending successful the substance container itself.) I haven’t noticed immoderate reliability oregon show issues connected my phone, though I bash person my laptop and iPad some acceptable up to nonstop and person texts, and I’ve recovered successful my investigating that some SMS and RCS messages nonstop overmuch much dilatory than they did before. These are the sorts of interface details that often amusement up successful these aboriginal betas and often — but not ever — get ironed retired earlier launch.

There are besides inactive immoderate things that don’t enactment astatine each and astir apt ne'er will. I don’t person entree to immoderate of iOS 18’s caller substance formatting options erstwhile I’m successful an RCS chat, for instance, and if I nonstop a connection with balloons it sends it with nary balloons and a dumb addendum to the connection that says “(sent with balloons).” You can’t usage iMessage apps implicit RCS oregon bash inline replies. Apple precise overmuch wants the iMessage acquisition to beryllium amended than RCS, and successful iOS 18, it inactive precise overmuch is.

Still, RCS successful iOS 18 is simply a immense triumph for texters everywhere. Users person been clamoring for a amended cross-platform mode to stock photos and videos — Tim Cook’s infamous “buy your ma an iPhone” enactment was really successful effect to a question astir texting videos — and that’s present fundamentally a solved problem. I cognize my woman work my text, and I tin spot my kid’s look successful the video she sent me. That whitethorn not dependable similar overmuch successful the twelvemonth 2024, but it’s benignant of the dream.