Apple iMessage is about to change beyond recognition, if a new report is correct. And the changes will affect not only how easy the app is to use on an iPhone, but also how easy this app is to use on an iPhone, as well as friends with an Android phone. And it appears it could protect Apple from trouble in a recent Justice Department antitrust case against the company.
Apple iMessage is about to be transformed.
Updated June 7 to detail the comparative values of security between RCS and other platforms for users.
It’s thought that Apple will announce the availability of RCS messages for the iPhone on Monday, June 10. Things could still change until the keynote starts at 10am Pacific, as there’s a lot of stuff to cram into the announcements, the thinking goes, or it could even be saved for a separate reveal, but next Monday seems most likely.
We’ve known for a while that RCS support was coming, but the timing, if correct, is big news, as Apple previously only committed to the end of 2024.
Rich Communication Services messaging is an advanced form of texting currently used on Android phones and means messages sent between iPhones and Android handsets gain additional features that previously could not be transferred from one platform to the other bridged.
Not only does this indicate that there could be a slowdown in users’ inexorable transition from iMessage to apps like WhatsApp, but it could also indicate a movement of traffic in the other direction. As reported by msn.com: “The implications of RCS integration extend beyond aesthetics and functionality. Many users, especially in regions outside the United States, have chosen WhatsApp as a cross-platform solution that works seamlessly across devices. With RCS, iMessage could potentially offer similar, if not superior, functionality, giving iPhone users a compelling reason to switch back from WhatsApp to iMessage.”
WhatsApp is available on both iPhones and Android devices, not to mention PC and Mac, although there’s still no dedicated iPad app, which is still a major annoyance for many.
The report also suggests, I think rightly, that Apple’s move to include RCS “could potentially change the competitive landscape in mobile messaging.”
RCS does not offer the same level of security as end-to-end encrypted services such as iMessage and WhatsApp. SMS, which is what Apple currently uses for messages from Android phones in iMessage, is the reason that when an iPhone user receives a message from an Android phone, the message appears in a green color scheme instead of a blue color. Something that has led to blue bubbles being considered a higher status than green by some users.
If Forbes contributor Zak Doffman notes: RCS is more secure than SMS, so those green bubbles in iMessage will be more secure after the new RCS capabilities are introduced than they are now. The blue bubbles are of course much safer.
I think MSN is right, and that while RCS can’t compete with some other services in terms of security, iMessage with RCS support has so many other benefits that many iPhone users will abandon WhatsApp and others to get the one that is at the core of Apple’s services. devices. And has those blue bubbles.
The change will mean that, as Abrar Al-Heeti notes at CNet, Android users’ texting will become less archaic. If they were using an Android phone, the writer’s friends would “lament the havoc I would wreak in a text message or group chat by ‘making everything green.’ Apparently there’s nothing worse for an iMessage user than an Android user ruining their precious blue bubble party.”
The report then lists some of the changes (I’ve mentioned more) that are coming: “Some features will remain exclusive to iMessage or Google’s Messages app. For example, while you can edit or unsend texts in iMessage, you probably won’t be able to do this for messages sent via RCS. And Google Messages-exclusive features, like text composing using the Gemini AI model, aren’t likely to transfer between devices either. It is also not yet clear whether messages sent via Android phones and iPhones will be end-to-end encrypted.”
RCS is much more advanced and capable than SMS, which is limited to 160 characters, isn’t great with media and has no encryption, for example.
If you’re sending a message from one iPhone to another, this is of little concern because Apple’s iMessage has so many superior features, like the typing indicator that lets you know your message is being read by the other party, or funky extras like balloons or confetti fill the screen.
The problem is that these features don’t work well with Android phones, and it’s one of the reasons many people, especially outside the United States, have migrated to cross-platform WhatsApp.
But the move to adopt RCS is being welcomed by many, including Inderpal Singh Mumick, CEO of RCS Business Messaging Hub Dotgo, who describes it as “a huge win for Apple customers and a game-changer for the messaging ecosystem.”
What will it mean? Once it arrives, the features found on each platform separately will be available on both. So Android users will be able to share their location with iPhone users within SMS threads, there will be typing indicators common to all users and receipts to indicate that your messages have been read. There will be better quality of media sharing and better encryption.
Oh, and one more thing about green bubbles: Apple has said that even if it has implemented RCS, “Blue bubbles will still be used to represent iMessages, while green bubbles will represent RCS messages,” as 9to5Mac reported.