Text messaging was first precede to cellular phones over 30 years ago , but sadly , it has n’t evolved much since then . The Short Messaging Service ( SMS ) technology we use today is much the same as it was in the recent 1990s , and it has n’t even seek to keep up with services like Apple’siMessageand third - party apps likeFacebook MessengerandWhatsApp .
Had it done so , we may not even have catch those other message services rise to laterality . They survive partially to meet needs that were n’t met by SMS and even its later enlargement into Multimedia Messaging Services ( MMS ) . Those technologies have n’t proceed up with the time , as they miss living for even longer messages and eminent - resolution images , much less read revenue , reactions , and typing indicators , all of which are standard features in today ’s messaging apps .
It was n’t until the past few twelvemonth that a true heir to legacy carrier electronic messaging had get to take hold . It ’s been a longsighted time coming , but Rich Communication Services ( RCS ) now promises to address many of the antiquated limitations of SMS / MMS . The knavish part is how RCS equate to SMS and MMS and what this change message landscape painting means foriPhoneandAndroidusers , not to mention those still usingold - school flip phone . Here ’s a closer look at how this all fits together .
The history of text messaging
While the technology for SMS was originally develop in 1984 , it did n’t record the mainstream until the early nineties . According toBBC , the first SMS textual matter subject matter was “ Merry Christmas , ” commit in December 1992 as a test by Vodafone engine driver Neil Papworth from his 2.1 - kilo Orbitel 901 to his boss , Richard Jarvis — who did n’t respond . By the undermentioned class , SMS was available on Nokia ’s full card of GSM phones , and it launch commercially on most carriers in 1995 . The respite , as they say , is history .
Even today , the most significant vantage SMS has over other electronic messaging service is its reliability and ubiquity . It ’s available on any phone today , from “ dumb ” feature phonesandlegacy insolent phonestocutting - bound smartphoneslike Apple’siPhone 16 Pro MaxandSamsung ’s Galaxy S24 Ultra . It also works on any carrier and across carriers , even without a data architectural plan , as SMS subject matter travel over the same duct as voice calls . By contrast , even Apple ’s popular iMessage wo n’t crop without cellular data or a Wi - Fi connector ; its Messages app will simply pass back tothe dreaded green bubbles SMS instead .
By 2002 , carrier and sound manufacturers realize that the plain text - only SMS standard would n’t cut it in an age of emerge television camera phones , and the Multimedia Messaging Service ( MMS ) was born , debuting with the acquittance of theSony - Ericsson T68i . This extension to SMS allowed users to station images , audio clip , and even up to 40 instant of video — albeit in rottenly low resolutions by today ’s standards .
With SMS / MMS usable everywhere , it ’s probably not surprising that it ’s still among the most wide used message services out there . Since it ’s built into every earpiece , you ’re almost ensure to get hold of somebody by text edition message with nothing more than their phone number . You do n’t even require to know what variety of twist they ’re using — just punch in their headphone number , tap out a little message , and hit the send push .
That does n’t intend that SMS / MMS are n’t frustrating technology in their own way . “ well-to-do ” does n’t always mean “ right , ” and while advanced smartphones attempt to get around some of these limitation , there ’s only so much they can do . For example , SMS content are still limited to 160 characters per subject matter ; the only reason you may not point out this is that the built - in message apps on iOS and Android stock split and stitch these messages together as necessary to make them appear as a single message .
The popularity ofmore advanced messaging appson today ’s smartphones indicate that most folks are using something better for their most important conversation . In answer to this growing motive for a more sophisticated oecumenical messaging monetary standard , the GSM Association ( GSMA ) , a business deal body made up of cellular immune carrier around the world , came up with the next contemporaries of SMS / MMS : a novel technology know as Rich Communication Services ( RCS ) .
What is RCS?
RCS is n’t really all that raw . It ’s really been around longer than both iMessage and WhatsApp . The new standard was proposed to the GSMA in 2007 , only five years after MMS debuted . It was clear-cut the association knew that something had to be done to improve the aging messaging standard in cooking for the novel smartphone genesis . Sadly , with hundreds of carriers and equipment maker at the tabular array , it never gained any meaningful traction .
It was n’t until Google decide to pick up the ball and track down with it that carriers started to yield more care . In 2015 , Googleacquired Jibe Mobile , and in early 2016 the fellowship announcedit would be leading the mission into an RCS future . Later that year , Google partnered with Sprint to bring RCS to that letter carrier ’s internet .
Not to be exceed by Google , the big three U.S. carrier — AT&T , T - Mobile , and Verizon — made RCS programme of their own in 2019 . By that fourth dimension , Sprint was in the physical process of being acquired by T - Mobile , crap the Google - Sprint RCS arrangement less relevant . The programme , sleep with as the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative ( CCMI ) sought to work up an RCS carrying out that would n’t risk create another iMessage - like serving that would be create without their involvement — and their ability to get a musical composition of the pie .
However , that coaction at long last fell apart , leaving RCS largely in Google ’s hands . That may have been a practiced affair in the closing , as the CCMI had reportedly planned to create its own standalone RCS app that would have ended up being yet another third - company message app . By comparison , Google had already integrated RCS intoits rebranded Google Messages app , like the SMS replacement that it ’s intended to be .
rather , flattop and manufacturers have gradually adopted Google Messages as the nonremittal message app on all their devices . Even Samsung , which hasits own RCS - compatible Samsung Messages app , positions Google Messages as the nonremittal on its new smartphones . Although Samsung Messages is preinstalled as an option and can be switched to the nonpayment for those who prefer to use that or else , it still uses the exact same RCS standard obtain in Google Messages .
For its part , Google has added its own extension to RCS to put up end - to - end encoding in Google Messages — something that ’s presently not part of the RCS Universal Standard .
Will RCS replace SMS?
RCS is designed to replace SMS in the sense that it ’s the next generation of the message protocol . However , we probably wo n’t see bequest SMS go by anytime soon .
For one thing , RCS requires a mobile datum connective to do its thing in the same manner as iMessage , WhatsApp , and other messaging services . SMS still runs over a interpreter - only cellular connection . It can and should stay as a fallback for those time when you have no Wi - Fi or cellular data available . The Google Messages app can already do this between RCS and SMS in the same fashion that Apple ’s Messages app has been care iMessage and SMS since its inception .
Perhaps more significantly , RCS will likely never come to feature telephone set . Even today , not everybody wants or needs a smartphone . There ’s still a market for folks who want to flip open up a telephone and make a call , and some feature phones are significantly more durable than even the most rugged smartphones — do them much more worthy for folks who work in gamey - risk environments . SMS will still be needed to commute text messages with these devices .
However , as RCS evolves and becomes a standard across all smartphones , we ’ll belike regain ourselves seldom exchanging old - schoolhouse Sm messages .
What is ‘RCS Chat’?
You may have hear the term “ Chat ” bandied about during Google ’s other adoption of RCS . This was originally a stigmatization that the company had given to its specific execution of RCS . However , it ’s moved away from that in recent year as Google ’s look of RCS has become the only RCS that most masses are familiar with .
These days , RCS is most commonly used specifically for Google ’s reading of the engineering science rather than the RCS Universal Standard . While the two are compatible , Google has add some supernumerary that are n’t part of the undefendable standard , most notably finish - to - end substance encryption . Google can do this as RCS in Google Messages operates using Google ’s Jibe political program . This is similar in concept to Apple ’s iMessage , except that Google has made Jibe open up to and available to the bearer to help them quickly espouse RCS on their networks .
However , as others embrace RCS , the distinction will become more important . For representative , a Google Messages exploiter wo n’t get end - to - end encoding when exchange RCS messages with someone using a non - Google RCS message app — including Samsung Messages — unless that app has specifically adopt Google ’s unique extension service to the RCS communications protocol .
luckily , the RCS Universal Standard supports most other modern messaging capabilities that are useable to all equipment using RCS , including support for much longer messages , high - solvent picture and TV , show receipts , type indicator , group confab , spine , reaction , and more .
Who supports RCS?
RCS is a carrier - side service , which means it still requires support from your carrier . While the RCS branding is gradually catch on , some mail carrier still use other terms like Advanced Messaging Services , Joyn , and SMS Plus ( SMS+ ) . These are largely just different names for RCS , and as of this writing , there are about 55 carriers worldwide that offer up RCS support , include all the major North American unity .
Nevertheless , some carrier have dramatize their own unique savor of RCS that only work with their own electronic messaging apps . Others , like Verizon , also ab initio partnered with Samsung to sustain Advanced Messaging Services , specifically in Samsung Messages , before Samsung decided to bosom Google ’s more open RCS solvent . Fragmentation stay a little trouble , but most carrier have adopted the RCS Universal Standard as a baseline , so it ’s mostly about missing “ bonus ” features like end - to - end encryption . Some mailman , such as Canada ’s Bell Mobility , have alsoannounced that they ’re dropping support for RCS in Samsung Messagesand advise customer to move to Google Messages to continue using RCS .
Does the iPhone have RCS?
After age ofstubbornly resisting RCS , Apple made a shocking about - face in late 2023,surprising the world by harbinger that it would espouse the technology in 2024 .
Appledelivered on that hope in iOS 18 , although it ’s not quite as advanced as Google ’s implementation . That ’s because Apple only supports the prescribed RCS Universal Standard . This offers most features we expect from modern electronic messaging apps , such as gamy - settlement media , typing indicators , read receipts , and proper group chats , but it does n’t stick out end - to - goal encryption ( E2EE ) when chatting with those on Google Messages . That ’s because Google ’s E2EE is a proprietary extension that the company summate to its own relish of RCS . The GSMAplans to add official “ interoperable remainder - to - closing encryption”to the RCS Universal Standard , at which full point Apple will undoubtedly embrace it , but for now , RCS messages sent between Android and iPhone user will be exchanged in the clear .
Further refine things is that it ’s up to the carrier to enable RCS financial backing for iPhone users . Unlike Google , Apple is n’t concerned in building its own RCS infrastructure , so it ’s relying on the carrier to point their customer to the right RCS servers . By comparison , Google Messages come down back to its own Jibe servers for folks on carriers that do n’t formally brook RCS .
This means you wo n’t get RCS reenforcement on the iPhone unless your carrier has enable it by submit the right RCS configuration information to Apple . As of iOS 18.0.1 , that ’s less than 40 carriers globally . The honest news is that includes most of the enceinte North American and European ones . The current listing let in AT&T , T - Mobile , Verizon , and US Cellular in the U.S. , but sadly leaves out most of the MVNOs for now . Puretalk , RedPocket , Metro by T - Mobile , Charter , Comcast , and Visible are all on instrument panel , but of the rest , only Mint Mobile has comment in public , with one of its Centennial State - founders suppose in September that it will take a few months to get everything roll out . In Canada , Bell , Rogers , Telus , Freedom Mobile , and Videotron have full RCS support , along with their subsidiary company stain Chatr , Koodo , Lucky , Public Mobile , and Virgin Mobile . European carriers with iPhone RCS funding include BT , Orange , and T - Mobile in the U.K. ; Orange , Telefonica , Vodafone , Yoigo , Masmovil , and Pepephone in Spain ; Eplus , O2 , and T - Mobile in Germany ; and SFR in France .
For iPhone users , RCS is not a replacement for Apple ’s iMessage ; it ’s only a richer interpretation of SMS . Unlike Google Messages , Apple does n’t even apply a different shade of commons to set RCS messages aside from their SMS / MMS counterparts . The only dour indicator in Apple ’s Messages app that designate you ’re using RCS is a water line in the text box .
That mean nothing changes when you ’re convey within Apple ’s own ecosystem . The companionship ’s iMessage service already offers benefits that are n’t part of the RCS Universal Standard or even Google ’s implementation , including not just E2EE , but also the ability toedit and unsend messages , as well as its own reaction tapbacks , spine , and iMessage Apps . Plus , RCS is strictly a communicating standard for cellular phones , while iMessage also operate on Macs and iPads and can be used to exchange messages using an email address .
How do I use RCS?
The just part about RCS is that you do n’t have to download any special apps or jump through hoops to use it . For the most part , it just work as long as both party ’ phones and carriers underpin RCS .
For iPhone users , you ’ll call for to be running iOS 18 or later . If your carrier supports RCS , it should be enabled by default . Whether to do this is up to each item-by-item attack aircraft carrier ; however , we ’ve confirmed in the iOS 18.0.1 carrier constellation file cabinet that it ’s arrange to be enable by default on every carrier that currently offers RCS supporting . Still , if RCS is n’t working , you’re able to check this by unfold your iPhone configurations app and choosingApps > message > RCS messagingand ensuring the toggle is switched on . IfRCS messagingdoesn’t seem here , it ’s most likely because your newsboy has n’t added supporting for it yet .
As long as RCS is enable , using it is as easy as mail a textbook message . If the soul on the other end has RCS support , your message will mechanically be sent using RCS ; otherwise , it will shine back to SMS . Once an RCS conversation is underway , you should see “ Text Message – RCS ” in the text entry box on an iPhone or “ RCS message ” on an Android phone , and you ’ll see read receipts and typing indicators as you would in most third - party messaging apps .
When using RCS , it ’s worth remembering that the person on the other end also needs to have RCS support enabled . If you ’re an Android user texting someone with an iPhone , you still wo n’t be able-bodied to send RCS until they ’ve update to iOS 18 and their carrier has add support for it . Similarly , even iPhone drug user entering the world of RCS for the first sentence may be surprised to find they wo n’t mechanically be switching to RCS with every Android user , as many still have older headphone or have n’t trade away from apps like Samsung Messages that are slowly being switched off by many carriers ’ RCS implementations . Apple ’s newsatellite messaging feature in iOS 18also lacks RCS support since it does n’t associate you immediately to your carrier ’s net , but instead rout out your schoolbook messages through Apple ’s gateway server .
The future of RCS is bright
While RCS had a rocky start until Google decided to take the rein , the fellowship ’s winner in setting up the RCS infrastructure for carriers and push Google Messages as the standard app across Android devices has made it a immense gradation forward into a more connected reality . Now that Apple is on board , the last impediment to make it a right universal communicating touchstone , rather than an Android - only platform , has been removed .
To be vindicated , RCS will likely never be a full replacement for third - party messaging apps like WhatsApp since it ’s driven entirely by mobile mail carrier and , therefore , is only available for smartphones with phone numbers . At most , other gimmick like tablets and laptops may be able to bridge communications through a smartphone — Apple ’s Messages app does this with RCS the same way it has with SMS / MMS for years — but it ’s still a cellular communications technology at its roots . However , third - company apps still support from being silo that limit communication to only those mathematical group who are willing to use those apps . By comparing , RCS is on its path to being nearly as omnipresent as SMS , allowing you to use it to communicate with anybody who has a smartphone with nothing more than their phone numeral .
