Apple adopts RCS messaging
Well we weren’t expecting that.
In a surprise move, Apple has agreed to support the rich messaging service, RCS messaging.
After years, well about 15 years, of refusing to play ball with RCS, Apple have announced that they will in fact support it from 2024.
“Later next year, we will be adding support for RCS Universal Profile, the standard as currently published by the GSM Association,” said Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy.
“We believe RCS Universal Profile will offer a better interoperability experience when compared to SMS or MMS. This will work alongside iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.”
The main benefit of this move is that now RCS messaging will work between iPhones and Android phones.
RCS messaging will work alongside Apple’s iMessage and will only be used when an IOS and Android phones communicate with each other.
RCS messaging improves hugely on SMS, in that it allows,
Read receipts
Typing indicators
High-res images
Videos
Photos
It appears as though the change of heart from Apple has come about because of pressure from the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This requires that companies make their services interoperable with other providers.
Where does this leave RMB or RCS for business?
This change from Apple doesn’t really progress the case for businesses adopting RCS messaging in a business context.
We still don’t quite know whether RCS messages that are sent from a business will work on IOS phones. We’d like to assume they will but at the moment, that’s unclear.
If businesses will be able to send RCS messages to iPhones, this might be the biggest boost for RCS, since it was launched in 2008.
We should hear more in the coming months.
