In a development many (myself included) thought was unlikely to ever happen, Apple has announced support coming sometime next year for RCS:
An interesting development. The article mentions pressure from the EU as a factor. This may be more an indicator of bureaucratic inertia than anything else.
Based on articles and forum postings I’ve read, iMessage is mostly a North American thing, with most of the message traffic in the EU reported as being on WhatsApp. SMS and MMS are regarded as ancient technology, used for low-grade 2FA and notifications from some businesses and governments. Some carriers are reportedly dropping MMS entirely. Assuming that what I’ve read is true, this will have almost no impact in the EU, but rather a large effect in the US.
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One big issue, if true, with how apple plans to implement RCS is to avoid using end to end encryption. This is a key feature in iMessage & a feature of how Google implemented RCS.
However, it seems the encryption isn’t a part of the RCS standard, though I believe it should be.
From an update Digital trends 11/20/23
However, it appears that Apple’s upcoming support for RCS will not include Google’s end-to-end encryption extension. Instead, it appears Apple will be working with the standards body to sanction a universal encryption method instead. This is a logical approach since Google’s E2EE extension is proprietary and would exclude other RCS Universal Profile users.
I personally think that adhering to global standards should be considered an admirable approach and a good move away from the Google proprietary approach
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With the release of iOS 18 developer betas (iOS public betas coming soon), Apple’s support for RCS on iPhone is rolling out. It remains a work in progress. Currently, most MVNOs are not supported though some flanker brands are.
Some detailed discussion (and informed speculation) here:
That discussion grew out of this one:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mobi/comments/1e09c8m/rcs_support_on_iphone/
It will be interesting to see how long they can drag this out. It is in Apples interest to protect message encryption and large attachments on iMessage as a lock-in to Apple hardware for as long as possible. Having lost the greater portion of the world to WhatsApp in terms of messaging traffic, they will want to leverage green-bubble psychology in North America for as long as they an get away with. Let the younger portion of your customer base bully their contemporaries into buying your product and they will likely be conditioned to stick with it when older.
While I’m sure the issue of using a global standard for encryption is partly motivated by not wanting to cede that much to Google, I suspect a far bigger motivation is that as your average international standards body moves at the speed of a sedated glacier, they will have several more years to let green-bubble-bullying expand their customer base before they have to allow encrypted messaging to non-Apple users.
Originally the green bubble meant “this message is costing you money”. It may still do so in some parts of the world. Now it mostly means “this message target cannot use encryption”. To teenagers, it means “this loser is too poor to afford an iPhone”. Apple wants to milk that for all it’s worth. Once the excuse of flagging non-encrypted receivers is removed, it will be interesting to see if they can come up with another reason to highlight non-Apple users.
In the mean time, I’m encouraging people to use third-party messengers to cut carriers out of the loop entirely apart from being the transport layer. Even here in the US, WhatsApp appears to be the dominant non-carrier messaging platform. There are 47 people in my WhatsApp contact list, including four people from the early days of Republic Wireless.
Exactly, there’s nothing inherently unreasonable about Apple using visual cues to differentiate when one is using its over the top infrastructure (iMessage) as opposed to using what Apple sees as carrier infrastructure (RCS/SMS/MMS).
Is this Apple’s responsibility? Is it Apple’s responsibility international standards bodies - as you colorfully put it - “move at the speed of a sedated glacier”? 
Apple has said it wants to work with the GSMA to improve RCS Universal Profile potentially including the addition of end-to-end encryption. I think the bigger obstacle is most government regulators aren’t particularly eager to see end-to-end encryption added to an open standard and the GSMA’s telecom members aren’t particularly eager to bite the hand that regulates them.
Let’s not let Google off the hook here. To work around lack of standardized end-to-end encryption in RCS Universal Profile, Google implemented end-to-end encryption as a proprietary extension. Has it made that proprietary extension available to developers of other Android messaging apps? Am I able to use, for example, Textra for encrypted RCS or RCS at all for that matter? I don’t believe so. Google is, apparently, now adding Messaging Layer Security (MLS) to Google Messages in addition to its proprietary extension. Perhaps, MLS might become a standard around which Apple, Google and the GSMA would cooperate? We’ll see what develops.
Should any company be basing its business strategy solely on the whims of teenagers? Are said teenagers using iMessage to shame their Android using peers as much as media suggest? Or; are they using Snapchat, or one of many other over the top messaging apps aimed at teens?
I suspect Apple will always differentiate between iMessage and what it sees as carrier infrastructure. That’s all the excuse needed. I’ll pick on poor Google again and point out Google Messages also provides visual cues differentiating RCS messages and SMS/MMS. Heaven forfend a fellow Android user choose to use a messaging app other than Google Messages. 
I don’t know about that. iMessage - which works across all Apple devices not just iPhone - might just be the dominant non-carrier messaging platform in the U.S. iMessage works on Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, etc. No phone number or active phone service is required to use iMessage. All that is required is an Apple device and an Apple ID (equivalent to a Google Account). Apple specifically designed iMessage from the beginning to bypass carrier infrastructure. To Apple, iMessage is not a carrier messaging platform.
Regardless, I can’t say I would be excited to see a Meta platform (WhatsApp) become the dominant messaging platform - carrier or otherwise - in the U.S. Now, if we could make Signal that dominant platform, that would be different.
tl;dr: I’m certainly not intending to make the case Apple is more saintly in pursuing its perceived interests. But; I don’t think Apple is necessarily less saintly than Google, Meta, various MNOs etc. in doing so,
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I want to go back to Morse. I’m tired of superfluous messages wasting my time.
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.-… — …- . / … -
Been there done that … back in the the mid 50’s to mid 60’s
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I’m inclined to think that Apple will use any lever available to avoid playing nice with non-apple devices, hoping to sell more of their own hardware.
I don’t let Google off the hook. I’ll admit that I don’t have enough time to go hunting down all the fiddly little details on the subject. I just soak up what passes by as I prowl the web for things. I don’t get the use of encrypted RCS because of Googles rabid hatred of rooted phones. Looking at my message history, I may not be getting any use of RCS.
I don’t think they are basing their strategies on any one factor. They will just take advantage of any factor that works in their favor.
You have me there. I took the mental shortcut of not putting iMessage in that category because it only connects in any kind of enhanced mode to Android devices for 3 to 7 days a few times a year as various companies try to get into the system and Apple boots them out.
I agree with you there. I have two friends that I connect with using Signal and one using Session. About half of my friends are technologically challenged, some to the point that their mere presence causes technology to deteriorate. Of those, the ones that can even understand the concept of a third-party messenger will go straight to WhatsApp because “it’s what everyone uses”. Keep in mind that my friends group is of an age where we used to use large pointy sticks to drive the T-Rexes away from our caves.
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Enabling RCS for iPhone is a two-part process. Apple must configure the relevant carrier bundle and the involved carrier must have RCS infrastructure. Said infrastructure could be their own or it could point to Google’s Jibe. Apple currently points by default to known GSMA endpoints at 3GPP.org. Individual carriers can override that in their bundles.
For example, there are AT&T carrier bundles for its network proper but also for Cricket (AIO), Consumer Cellular, DISH, FirstNet, Puretalk, Red Pocket, and Tracfone. RCS is, apparently, enabled for AT&T proper, Cricket, Consumer Cellular, FirstNet, Red Pocket but not for DISH or Tracfone.
T-Mobile has bundles for itself as well as Boost, Consumer Cellular, Metro, Simple Mobile, Ting, Mint/Ultra and a generic MVNO bundle. So far, only T-Mobile proper and Metro are RCS enabled. Surprisingly, Mint and Ultra (now T-Mobile owned brands) are not yet enabled for RCS.
Verizon has RCS enabled bundles for itself, Visible and its cableco partners.
UScellular’s bundle is RCS enabled.
Here’s a list of U.S. providers with Apple carrier bundles:
ACS_US.bundle
Altice_LTE_US.bundle
Appalachian_LTE_US.bundle
ATT_aio_US.bundle
ATT_CC_US.bundle
ATT_Dish_MVNO_US.bundle
ATT_FirstNet_US.bundle
ATT_NR_US.bundle
ATT_Puretalk_US.bundle
ATT_RedPocket_US.bundle
ATT_TFW_US.bundle
ATT_US.bundle
Bluegrass_LTE_US.bundle
CarolinaWest_LTE_US.bundle
CarrierLab.bundle
Cellcom_LTE_US.bundle
CellcomWI_LTE_US.bundle
CellularSouth_LTE_US.bundle
Chariton_LTE_US.bundle
Chat_LTE_US.bundle
CopperValley_LTE_US.bundle
CopperValleyTelecom_LTE_US.bundle
CrossWireless_Bravado_LTE_US.bundle
CrossWireless_LTE_US.bundle
Default.bundle
Dish_MVNO_US.bundle
Dish_Ting_US.bundle
FamilyMobile_US.bundle
GCI_US.bundle
GigSky_US.bundle
IllinoisValley_LTE_US.bundle
Inland_LTE_US.bundle
iWireless_US.bundle
KnowRoaming.bundle
Nemont_LTE_US.bundle
NemontWireless_LTE_US.bundle
NexTech_LTE_US.bundle
NWM_LTE_US.bundle
OtherKnown.bundle
Panhandle_US.bundle
Pioneer_LTE_US.bundle
PioneerCellular_LTE_US.bundle
PTCI_LTE_only_US.bundle
PTCI_LTE_US.bundle
SilverStar_LTE_US.bundle
Sprint_Boost_ISIM_LTE_US.bundle
Sprint_ISIM_LTE_US.bundle
Sprint_Virgin_ISIM_LTE_US.bundle
Strata_LTE_US.bundle
TMobile_Boost_US.bundle
TMobile_CC_US.bundle
TMobile_MetroPCS_US.bundle
TMobile_MVNO_US.bundle
TMobile_TFW_Simple_US.bundle
TMobile_Ting_US.bundle
TMobile_UltraMint_US.bundle
TMobile_US.bundle
Truphone_US.bundle
UnionWireless_US.bundle
UnitedWireless_LTE_US.bundle
USCellular_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Charter_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Comcast_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Core_Visible_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Cox_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Credo_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Response_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_TFW_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Ting_LTE_US.bundle
Verizon_Visible_LTE_US.bundle
Viaero_US.bundle
Some poking around Apple carrier bundles from iOS 18 Developer Beta 6 suggested Red Pocket’s bundle had been enabled for RCS. That is indeed the case.
RCS sent from my iPhone and received on my Pixel:
Reply sent back from the Pixel received on the iPhone:
So, once Apple and the relevant carriers complete that which needs to be completed, RCS across platforms albeit currently without end-to-end encryption seems as if it will work relatively well.
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Has anyone with Android 14 and the newest Messages app (RCS enabled) been able to EDIT a sent RCS message? All the guides say a pencil icon will appear on a message you “long press” on to edit (within 15 minutes of sending).
I have not been able to EDIT a sent RCS message (both sides have RCS) as of this afternoon. I have all android 14 updates and messages app version: 20240708_03_RC05
Here is one of the many threads about how to edit RCS messages:
I’m likewise unable to edit RCS. Apparently, we are not alone: Can’t Edit Messages After Sending. If both sides of the conversation need to be running Android 14, I cannot replicate that environment as only my Pixel 6a is on Android 14.
The frustrating thing with RCS is it’s inconsistently implemented. Google has a habit of touting certain features that then don’t work consistently for everyone. Another example is Google Messages support for dual SIM RCS, which was touted then disappeared also: Did anybody get back or still have dual SIM RCS?
Google’s track record when it comes to messaging has never been great. And, even when Google gets it right, the carriers can and sometimes do still screw things up.
Apple’s iMessage completely bypasses carrier infrastructure, which is why it just works. Google has attempted something similar with its Jibe backend for Google Messages but it doesn’t take the carriers completely out of the picture. I’m very happy to see Apple support for RCS on iOS but am not expecting miracles.
In a perfect world, Apple and Google would work together (as they did with COVID notifications) and with the GSMA to develop RCS as a more robust standard then shove it down the carriers’ throats but we don’t live in a perfect world.
My spouse has a Pixel 8 with all updates, I have a Pixel 6a with all updates, and both are on the same Boost Mobile account.
We cannot edit RCS messages sent to each other.
I guess it is an ULTRA-slow rollout of the messages updated app, or Boost Mobile has not finished implementing something.
It is no big deal to me, but some folks have had the ability to edit sent messages for over a month now.
iOS 18.0 Developer Beta 8 (and presumably Public Beta 6), which are rumored to be the release candidate, were released today. RCS remains unsupported for most independent MVNOs. If today’s released betas are indeed the release candidate, it appears most independent MVNOs will not receive RCS support at iOS 18.0 launch.
RCS is supported on iOS 18.0 for the national MNOs, the majority of their flanker brands (support for Mint and Ultra Mobile is noticeably absent), some independent MVNOs and UScellular (not to be confused with US Mobile).
With today’s general release of iOS 18, RCS messaging on iPhone is now supported by Apple but not necessarily your provider
It appears the following have RCS on iOS support
- AT&T (including FirstNet)
- C-Spire (regional MNO)
- T-Mobile
- UScellular (regional MNO not to be confused with US Mobile)
- Verizon
Other providers using AT&T’s network:
- Cricket
- Consumer Cellular
- PureTalk (possibly including h20 Wireless, which shares ownership with PureTalk)
- RedPocket (as well as apparently sub brand FreedomPop and possibly UNREAL Mobile)
Other providers using T-Mobile’s network
- Metro by T-Mobile
Other providers using Verizon’s network
- Spectrum Mobile (Charter)
- Xfinity Mobile (Comcast)
- Visible by Verizon
- Tracfone brands with carrier settings update 59.1 (dropped separately OTA today)
The above is based upon examination of relevant carrier bundles for the iOS 18 release candidate and this Apple Support document. It’s entirely possible I’ve missed someone. If your provider offers service on more than one MNO network, only the option noted is RCS enabled at this time.
I happened to notice today that the ability to edit RCS messages is now available on our 6a and 8 Pixel phones over Boost Mobile (T-mobile SIM).
It is pretty cool.