Samsung Welcomes Apple to the Future of Messaging with RCS

Samsung and other Android phones have been using RCS. For those unaware, Rich Communication Services (RCS), is a modern messaging protocol that came to replace SMS and MMS. RCS comes with lots of cool features. You can send high-quality photos that look great, react to messages with emojis, and enjoy better group chats that are easy to use. It’s a big upgrade from the old way of texting. Apple took a long time to embrace the new standard, but that finally happened with iOS 18.1.

As usual, Apple tends to create or hype new trends, even when it wasn't the first to start them. Apple has added RCS support in iOS 18.1, meaning iPhones can finally use it too. This change helps make messaging between iPhones and Android phones easier. With the entrance of iPhone users in the RCS, we expect the new standard to gain much more traction. Samsung has been adopting this standard for a long time, but it will take a ride in Apple's hype.

Samsung wouldn't miss the opportunity to have some fun and draw attention to Apple's entrance into the RCS world. The company shared videos to show off how RCS works. It highlights how much better messaging can be when people use the new standard, no matter if they're on Android or iPhone.

One thing to notice is that messages between iPhones and Android phones using RCS aren't fully encrypted. In other words, they might not be as private as some users would prefer. Still, with Apple's addition of RCS, texting will get much better for a lot of people. After years stuck in the archaic MMS/SMS standards, iPhone users can finally reconsider the Messaging app as a good choice to communicate with others.

For RCS messaging to work, Android and iOS users need to have Google Messages installed and RCS enabled in settings. The "Send photos faster" option can also turn off HQ image quality. Reactions, quotes, and sharing work just like other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram, etc. The difference is that with Google Messages you won't need a social media account, the messages are sent with your phone number.