Google mentions support for Rich Communication Services on its website. However, the clue disappears shortly afterwards.
Apple is apparently improving the options for users who want to exchange messages between Android devices and iPhones this year. How 9to5Google Citing a support article from Google, the iPhone manufacturer’s smartphones will support Rich Communication Services (RCS) from fall 2024.
Google has long been lobbying Apple to integrate support for RCS into its messaging app iMessage. Google integrated RCS into its messaging app Messages in 2019. RCS has now developed into the successor to SMS/MMS. Samsung also uses Google’s Messages app for its smartphones ex works, although its own SMS app Messages also supports the RCS protocol.
The brief mention of RCS on iPhone in Google’s support document suggests that Apple could introduce RCS support with the upcoming iOS 18 update. However, the notice has now been removed from the site.
With support for RCS, Apple could respond to antitrust investigations in the USA and Europe. The competition authorities are currently taking a closer look at Apple’s business practices, in Europe especially in connection with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). However, the EU Commission has decided that Apple iMessage is not a gatekeeper under the DMA. In the USA, the Justice Department is currently still dealing with this question.