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iOS 19 to Improve Texting With Android Users in Five Ways

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Apple this week said that it plans to add support for end-to-end encrypted RCS messages to the Messages app in future iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS software updates, and that news actually has some additional implications.

RCS Feature 1
As noted by 9to5Mac's Michael Burkhardt, Apple has indirectly confirmed that it will be adopting the RCS Universal Profile 3.0 specification, which includes not only end-to-end encryption, but also several other iMessage-like enhancements that were originally introduced in version 2.7 of the specification. iOS 18 supports RCS Universal Profile 2.4.

Here are five new capabilities to expect for RCS conversations:

  • End-to-end encryption, which will prevent Apple and any other third party from being able to read messages and attachments while they are being sent between devices, as has always been the case with iMessage
  • In-line replies
  • Edit messages
  • Unsend messages
  • Full-fledged Tapback support for RCS messages, ensuring they always work

iMessage conversations with blue bubbles have supported end-to-end encryption by default since iOS 5. In addition, iMessage has supported in-line replies since iOS 14, while the options to edit and unsend iMessages were introduced with iOS 16.

Apple has not indicated which iOS version will upgrade RCS, but iOS 19 or a follow-up update like iOS 19.1 or iOS 19.2 seems like a safe bet.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Tag: Messages
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Top Rated Comments

I
ignatius345
16 months ago
Wow, this would pretty much eliminate all the pain points of texting people with Androids. Sounds good to me.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonathanParker Avatar
JonathanParker
16 months ago

Apple could end the blue bubble / green bubble issue so easily, as with so much other low hanging fruit they ignore.

Just let people set it to whatever color they want. How hard is that? I can set my watch complications to a jillion colors, I can make my Home Screen look absolutely awful in whatever shade of color I want.

Why can't I just customize my Messages colors? It even says right there in the compose field, for every single message every single time, "iMessage" "SMS" or "RCS".
I agree, I also demand that Apple give me the option to customise the colours of the Dynamic Island privacy indicators from Orange for microphone and Green for Camera—I want Purple for Microphone and Brown for Camera. I also demand the ability to rotate all message bubbles by 12° as a customisation feature in the Messages app, and I want to change the colour of all notifications so they appear with pink text instead of white
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CarAnalogy
16 months ago
Apple could end the blue bubble / green bubble issue so easily, as with so much other low hanging fruit they ignore.

Just let people set it to whatever color they want. How hard is that? I can set my watch complications to a jillion colors, I can make my Home Screen look absolutely awful in whatever shade of color I want.

Why can't I just customize my Messages colors? It even says right there in the compose field, for every single message every single time, "iMessage" "Text Message" or "RCS".
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Johnny907 Avatar
Johnny907
16 months ago

Apple could end the blue bubble / green bubble issue so easily, as with so much other low hanging fruit they ignore.

Just let people set it to whatever color they want. How hard is that? I can set my watch complications to a jillion colors, I can make my Home Screen look absolutely awful in whatever shade of color I want.

Why can't I just customize my Messages colors? It even says right there in the compose field, for every single message every single time, "iMessage" "Text Message" or "RCS".
Agree. I won't be switching to Android because I'm far too entrenched in the Apple ecosystem for that to ever work, but I'm always jealous when I look at a friend's messaging app because they can assign colors and style to each contact individually. It's a small thing, but being able to assign different colors for work/business contacts to differentiate them from personal contacts would be such a welcome feature. Apple could implement this tomorrow if they wanted to, leaving the current setup as default but allowing customization inside each contact's info screen, but no, Apple gonna Apple and force everyone to be as homogenous as the companies they used to lampoon decades ago just to own those Android chuds, or whatever.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
GMShadow
16 months ago

Apple could end the blue bubble / green bubble issue so easily, as with so much other low hanging fruit they ignore.

Just let people set it to whatever color they want. How hard is that? I can set my watch complications to a jillion colors, I can make my Home Screen look absolutely awful in whatever shade of color I want.

Why can't I just customize my Messages colors? It even says right there in the compose field, for every single message every single time, "iMessage" "Text Message" or "RCS".
It's important to help avoid social faux pas. If you're in a group chat and someone's got a green bubble, you're going to keep restaurant recommendations more on the side of Applebees rather than Ruth's Chris or something even more upmarket.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
Drzed
16 months ago

Maybe in the US. Here in Europe, operator support for RCS is non-existent in many countries
Same in Australia. Nothing has changed since iOS 18 and RCS support. All messaging between Apple and Android is still SMS with no RCS support, it’s literally 1990s tech where you can’t even send anything more than 120 plain text characters

There is a reason why WhatsApp is so popular outside of the USA. Apple has ignored the messaging between the 2 platforms for years allowing competitors to take over. The amount of Apple users outside the USA who use other messaging apps instead of iMessage is staggering.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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