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As I watched Apple’s Craig Federighi give the rundown on iOS 18 during today’s WWDC stream, I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of RCS support during the many presentation slides and talking points. After all, Apple pledged support for RCS this year after much pressure, and given that iOS 18 is the company’s next big platform update, it seemed like RCS would be part of the agenda.
READ: The DOJ Case Against Apple Might Finally Fix the RCS-iMessage Conundrum
When all was said and done however, we technically did hear “RCS” uttered at the event, although all we got was a quick quip of the feature being included in iOS 18, along with a recap of everything else revealed during the show up to that point. No specific deep dive into how it works within Apple’s framework or anything else about it, other than it will arrive with iOS 18. It’s a level of Android snubbery that would have made Steve Jobs proud, given the long rivalry between iOS and Android.
For those unfamiliar with the whole issue, Apple has been infamous for refusing to adopt RCS messaging, despite it being the modern standard used by nearly all other smartphone manufacturers these days. The company’s “walled garden” method extends to its iMessage service, which it so very obviously wants to keep pure by keeping features locked solely for iPhone users.
Going back to WWDC 2024, this lack of information doesn’t add anything new to what we know from previous updates, other than RCS is coming to iOS. With that being said, Mishaal Rahman over from Android Authority did share a screenshot on social media that gives a preview of how RCS will appear on iPhones, which was lifted from Apple’s official iOS 18 preview page.
In fairness to Apple, it does come with the essentials such as support for read receipts, easier file sharing and such. But it seems that the Cupertino giant wants to stick to its guns and keep doing things its way with just the basics, green bubbles and all. It does seem very barebones, and given how the company has complied with regulatory mandates in the past, it’s not too surprising.
It’s worth noting though that Apple’s version of RCS will have some key differences from the one you might be familiar with – for example, while RCS on Google Messages uses end-to-end encryption between Android users, it’s predicted that Apple’s approach to RCS won’t support end-to-end encryption for messages between iPhones and Android devices.
READ: Google confirms when Apple will bring RCS to iPhones
With all that being said, we’re still months away from iOS 18’s final form – perhaps I’ll be proven wrong, and Apple might after all present us with a truly “rich” communication service later in the Fall. As it stands now though, it’s clear that it’s hell-bent on doing things its own way, just enough to get by the rules.
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