Apple added assist for the Google-supported RCS (Wealthy Communication Companies) message customary with iOS 18. RCS was created by the mobile trade so as to add superior media and different options to messaging that might work throughout working programs. Google adopted RCS in Android about 5 years in the past, and it’s obtainable for many telephones that may run Android 5 (Lollipop, 2014) or later. The usual requires provider upgrades, and almost all have made them.
Turning on RCS in your iPhone lets Android customers ship and obtain messaging data or formatting that beforehand was restricted to Android-to-Android (by way of RCS) or Apple-to-Apple (by way of iMessage). This contains learn receipts that present when the recipient has seen a message (if they’ve that possibility enabled), emoji tapbacks, extraordinarily lengthy messages, and audio messages. (iMessages seem as blue bubbles in a Messages dialog and solely work amongst individuals utilizing Apple {hardware}. SMS, MMS, and RCS messages seem as inexperienced bubbles.)
You possibly can allow or disable RCS in iPhone 18 by way of Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging. Disabling RCS doesn’t forestall you from speaking with Android customers; as an alternative, your iPhone reverts to interactions with them by way of SMS or MMS.
Choose in or out of RCS by way of Settings > Apps > Messages.
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Apple’s model of RCS doesn’t but assist group texting. It additionally lacks the end-to-end encryption obtainable with supported Android-to-Android RCS and is necessary for iMessage. Your iPhone to Android messages are despatched as in the event that they handed over a safe internet connection: they’re encrypted and decrypted by servers on both finish as an alternative of solely in your units and that of recipients. An trade effort is underway to create an encryption customary that Apple would have the ability to use.
This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by a Macworld reader.
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