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More Than 1 Billion RCS Messages Are Sent Daily on Android and iOS

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Over a billion RCS messages are sent on a daily basis in the United States, Google said today. ‌RCS‌, or Rich Communication Services, is a communication protocol that replaced the prior SMS and MMS messaging standards.

RCS Feature 1
It was developed by the GSM Association, but Google has been championing it for years. Apple held out on adopting ‌RCS‌ for quite some time, but finally added support with the launch of iOS 18. On devices running iOS 18, ‌RCS‌ is the default messaging protocol for texts between an iPhone user and an Android user.

Apple's adoption of ‌RCS‌ has undoubtedly increased the number of ‌RCS‌ messages sent per day, but Google's 1 billion figure includes Android to Android text messages along with Android to iPhone text messages (and vice versa).

‌RCS‌ is a notable improvement over SMS and MMS, and it makes for a better texting experience between iPhone users and Android users, as Android users can't take advantage of iMessage. Some of the ‌RCS‌ features:

  • Support for higher resolution photos and videos.
  • Support for larger file sizes and file sharing.
  • Audio messages.
  • Cross-platform emoji reactions.
  • Real-time typing indicators and read receipts.
  • Better group chats with support for removing people.
  • The option to send messages over cellular or Wi-Fi.

For iPhone to iPhone conversations, iMessage is still the default, but ‌RCS‌ has made "green bubble" texting with Android users less of a hassle.

‌RCS‌ is supported by the major carriers in the United States, but some smaller carriers like Boost Mobile, Mint Mobile, Ting, and others have yet to add support.

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Top Rated Comments

sw1tcher Avatar
sw1tcher
14 months ago

Myself, I disabled RCS, don;lt see the need for it and i don't need the features. SMS works fine for me.
RCS will (soon) have end-to-end encryption ('https://www.theverge.com/news/629620/apple-iphone-e2ee-encryption-rcs-messaging-android') on iPhone. SMS is not encrypted. I'd say that's one big reason to enable RCS
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
Ad47uk
14 months ago

For cross platform (and even iPhone to iPhone) communications I use Signal.

...or use WhatsApp, like the rest of the world does. ;)
Not all the world use Whatsapp or Signal, the problem with these services is that the person you are messaging have to use these as well. Every single phone has at least SMS, so if you message using RCS, it will still be received buy the majority if not all the phones around, evcen if it is recieved as a SMS.

I know people, including myself, that would not touch WhatsApp with a bargepole and most of them would not even have heard of signal.

to send messages to people on different messaging services, you need an app for each one, just like the days when we had AIM and MS messenger, ICQ and Yahoo messenger, in that you had to have multiple software. some software did come out that combined them all, but as far as i know, there are no apps on mobiles to combine all these messaging services.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rychiar Avatar
Rychiar
14 months ago

When something is default and most people really don't have a clue what they are using then yes, there is going to be a load of people using.

Myself, I disabled RCS, don;lt see the need for it and i don't need the features. SMS works fine for me.
That’s a ridiculous stance🤦🏻‍♂️ so for some bizarre reason you turn off newer better messaging to use an ancient standard that can’t even send decent photos?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
Biro
14 months ago

RCS will (soon) have end-to-end encryption ('https://www.theverge.com/news/629620/apple-iphone-e2ee-encryption-rcs-messaging-android') on iPhone. SMS is not encrypted. I'd say that's one big reason to enable RCS
RCS also appears to work better between iOS and Android now than it did after it was first launched with iOS 18. So it’s an improvement over SMS now and will will be a huge improvement with encryption.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
sw1tcher
14 months ago

RCS is supported by the major carriers in the United States, but some smaller carriers like Boost Mobile, Mint Mobile, Ting, and others have yet to add support.
🤦‍♂️

I've had RCS working since 18.3.1 ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/ios-18-4-brings-rcs-support-to-google-fi-mint-mobile-and-other-t-mobile-mvnos.2451361/?post=33777038#post-33777038')


You reported on Mint Mobile supporting it back in March

https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/04/ios-18-4-t-mobile-mvno-rcs/

After installing iOS 18.4, iPhone users with Mint Mobile, Google Fi, Ultra Mobile, Tello, and US Mobile are able to toggle on RCS messaging, and the functionality appears to be rolling out for all T-Mobile Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).


https://www.mintmobile.com/help/does-mint-mobile-support-rcs-for-android-and-iphone-phones/

Does Mint Mobile support RCS for Android and iPhone phones?

Yep. RCS is available for both Android and iPhone devices. All Android devices (9+) and iOS devices (18.4 and above) have RCS features automatically enabled and defaulted on. To use RCS features, all parties must have RCS enabled and compatible carrier support.


Even Boost Mobile supports RCS

https://help.boostmobile.com/docs/rcs

Can Boost Mobile customers use RCS on iPhone?

As long as you have an iPhone XS/XR or later and iOS 18.2, you’re good to go!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
ifxf
14 months ago

Its a cool feature but it doesnt show when theyve read the text, it shows when theyre typing though. I think its a glitch in ios 18.5 It mightve been in ios 18.4.1 but I see it in 18.5
Maybe they have the read receipt feature turned off like I do.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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