Like all iPhone users, I have blue friends and green friends. Green Friends have long been isolated in less than viable text messaging protocols. Starting today, The text message reign of terror is over. and iOS 18Apple reluctantly sided with RCS Communications. It’s been too long. The scars are deep, but we must now enter a period of healing.
Now that Rich Communication Services (also known as RCS) is standard in the iOS 18 Messages app between iPhone and Android, you’ll get a clearer texting experience. You’ll still see your Android friends popping up in green bubbles, and Apple users in blue bubbles. The difference now is that you and your friends will see read receipts. You can also enable these receipts for each individual contact.
There will be growing pains. I’m already having issues with my messages being sent in RCS, but my less tech-savvy friends don’t understand why their old Android devices only send via SMS, or why my messages keep flipping back and forth. This has been the case since RCS went live in iOS 18 beta, so there will be some issues that we hope Apple will address. At least now you can see if someone typed an RCS message in the message text box.
But the effort is worth it. This farce has been going on for a long time and we have to realize that there are little things that can add to a better messaging experience. Those swinging ellipses in typed notifications tell my friends I care about them enough to text them. There are also read receipts. Then there are the simple things like my brother and I sending each other some non-blurry photos we took at the Renaissance Faire. Then again, we usually use Facebook Messenger.
We must admit that the experience of iOS users sending text messages to iPhone friends is different from that of Android users. The version of RCS used by Apple is not encrypted, unlike iMessage. For this, you should try WhatsApp or Signal – if you value privacy, choose the latter.
But sometimes, you just need a basic messaging app to work. I no longer have to worry about group chats with my parents, just send them via SMS or MMS protocol. Just two years ago, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told reporters, “Buy your mom an iPhone,” when he complained that his parents couldn’t see the videos he sent them.
The CEO’s response demonstrates the disdain the company shows for its users and users regulatory agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice complained that non-iPhone users were being “ostracized and stigmatized” due to the green bubble drama in its ongoing antitrust litigation. Apple has long been reluctant to make the move, so much so that The EU’s Digital Markets Act finally lets the Cupertino tech giant Trim a few inches off your walled garden.
Apple’s last RCS announcement Global Developers Conference Events After talking about the improvements in iOS 18, state it in one sentence. It should be clear by now that you can still more easily send text messages to other iPhone users through Messages. new features iMessage is coming soon, including Emoji Tapback (which has been available on Android for a long time) and Sticker Reactions, which works better in Send to iPhone instead of Android. Android users will receive “[person] reacted [emoji]” message for Tapback responses. iPhone users can now schedule messages to be sent later and send larger images with lower compression. If you have an iPhone 14 or later, you can also choose to send via satellite Send a text message.
We cannot linger on this issue any longer. Maybe one day Apple will accept a version of RCS with encryption, but we can’t hold our breath. This is the new status quo, texters just need to acknowledge the differences between device ecosystems.
