RCS Messaging Enabled for Some iPhone Users in the US With Latest iOS 18 Update

RCS Messaging is being enabled for some iPhone users in the US following the iOS 18 Developer Beta 2 update, according to claims on social media. The feature was showcased at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 on June 10 and was scheduled to arrive with iOS 18. It was reported a few days ago that select US carriers had rolled out support for RCS Messaging on iPhone and some users on social media have now claimed they can access the feature.

RCS Messaging on iPhone

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), user @BrandonButch shared a screenshot which allegedly shows RCS Messaging being enabled. While the text message still appears to have a green bubble, a new RCS banner can be seen within the chat window.

This development comes after Apple released the iOS Developer Beta 2 on Monday with a new toggle for RCS Messaging in the iPhone’s settings. While the feature was said to be inactive, it was reported that it may be visible to users in the US whose carrier supports the messaging standard, such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

RCS (Rich Communication Services) provides better interoperability for cross-platform messaging. It is claimed to improve upon the features offered by standard SMS by enabling the sharing of high-resolution media, having typing indicators and a better group chat experience.

While it has been available on the Android ecosystem for years, Apple did not incorporate it into its suite of services, choosing to focus on its proprietary iMessage instead. However, that changed last year when the iPhone maker announced that it would roll out support for RCS Messages with the next iOS update.

Notably, not having support for RCS was one of the key points of the lawsuit filed against Apple by the US Department of Justice in March. It also alleged that the “green bubble” issue on iPhone makes rival Android users feel inferior. While RCS Messaging has been brought to the iPhone with iOS 18, Apple has already confirmed that even with RCS enabled, the text messages would still have the same colour, unlike the blue bubble which appears when sending and receiving messages between Apple’s handsets.