All Three Major U.S. Carriers and Google Adopt Rich Communication Services, But No Sign of Apple Interest

For the last several years, Google has been pushing a new communications protocol called Rich Communication Services, or RCS. ‌RCS‌ is designed to replace SMS, the current text message standard, and it offers support for higher resolution photos and videos, audio messages, bigger file sizes, better encryption, improved group chat, and more.

General Apps Messages
Verizon today announced that it is planning to adopt Messages by Google as its default messaging service on Android devices, joining AT&T and T-Mobile. That means all three major carriers in the United States will support the ‌RCS‌ standard on Android devices as of 2022.

As The Verge points out, this leaves Apple as the big ‌RCS‌ holdout, and there are benefits that iPhone users will miss out on.

When ‌RCS‌ sees a complete Android rollout, text messages on Android phones will be end-to-end encrypted. ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ communications are end-to-end encrypted thanks to iMessage, but with this change, texts between Android users and ‌iPhone‌ users will be less secure because of Apple's decision to continue to use SMS over ‌RCS‌.

Hiroshi Lockheimer, senior vice president of Android, told The Verge that Android vs. ‌iPhone‌ messaging security will become an important discussion with the wider adoption of ‌RCS‌. "The fallback messaging experience on the other platform will not have encryption if it's still SMS," he said. "I think that that is a pretty interesting dynamic and I would hope that as everyone focuses on security and privacy it becomes an important part of the discussion."

Lockheimer did not provide details on whether Google is discussing ‌RCS‌ with Apple, but Apple has been invited to adopt the ‌RCS‌ standard. Apple has declined to comment on ‌RCS‌, and there's no sign that Apple plans to adopt it in the near future.

Now that all three major carriers in the U.S. are supporting ‌RCS‌, Apple may be more inclined to consider the technology to make cross-platform messaging more secure.

Top Rated Comments

CouldBeWorse Avatar
35 months ago
Apple using RCS with end-to-end encryption as a fallback instead of SMS would be a good thing for iPhone and Android users.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deguello Avatar
35 months ago

RCS may be more secure, but it certainly won't be more private. Google with retain every communication, as it does with every other piece of information it has access to.
It’s a protocol and it won’t all go through google any more than your SMS messages do now.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
triptolemus Avatar
35 months ago

RCS may be more secure, but it certainly won't be more private. Google with retain every communication, as it does with every other piece of information it has access to.
So you just blew right past the encrypted part and went for Google FUD?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Deguello Avatar
35 months ago

It’s not a standard, it’s a protocol Google advocates, why would you expect Apple to help with making its competitor’s technology a standard? Apple has its own technology that it wants to make an industry standard, Google doesn’t help with any of those, either.
Apple has purposefully not ported imessage to android specifically to aid in lock-in to Apple. What technology here are you talking about that Apple wants to make a standard?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kjvmartin Avatar
35 months ago
Not holding my breath. Apple is slow to do anything.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CPx Avatar
35 months ago
Do it, Apple!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
General Apps Messages

Google Reveals When to Expect RCS Support on iPhone for Improved Texting With Android Users

Friday March 29, 2024 7:14 am PDT by
In November, Apple announced that the iPhone would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app starting "later" in 2024, and Google has now revealed a more narrow timeframe. In a since-deleted section of the revamped Google Messages web page, spotted by 9to5Google, Google said that Apple would be adopting RCS on the iPhone in the "fall...
airtag new orange

Criminals in Montreal Using AirTags to Steal Vehicles

Friday March 29, 2024 12:50 pm PDT by
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple's AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these...
top stories 30mar2024

Top Stories: WWDC 2024 Announced, New iPads Delayed, and More

Saturday March 30, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company's next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and...
iphone 16 cases sonny dickson 1

First iPhone 16 Cases Outline New Rear Vertical Camera Bump

Friday March 29, 2024 4:09 am PDT by
Photos of the first iPhone 16 cases have been shared online, offering another preview of the rumored new vertical rear camera arrangement on the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Image credit: Accessory leaker Sonny Dickson Over the last few months, Apple has been experimenting with different camera bump designs for the standard iPhone 16 models, all of which have featured a vertical ...
Apple iPhone 15 Pro spatial video capture lifestyle

$3 App Shoots Better Quality Spatial Video Than iPhone's Camera App

Friday March 29, 2024 4:48 am PDT by
A $3 third-party app can now record spatial video on iPhone 15 Pro models in a higher resolution than Apple's very own Camera app. Thanks to an update first spotted by UploadVR, Spatialify can now record spatial videos with HDR in 1080p at 60fps or in 4K at 30fps. In comparison, Apple's native Camera app is limited to recording spatial video in 1080p at 30fps. Shortly after Apple's Vision ...