After Google’s “Help Apple get the message” campaigns, Apple said they would add RCS by 2024. The wait is finally over – for some, at least. RCS support has now been rolled out to US users running iOS 18 beta 2 on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
In the iOS 18 beta 2 release, Apple included a new setting to turn RCS on and off. At first, it didn’t work when turned on, but now the phone companies have updated it. So beta testers can enjoy features like read receipts, reactions and better photo sharing in their messages.
RCS uses data and WiFi for messaging like WhatsApp. This is better than regular SMS texting. Best of all, people don’t need separate apps – it works between iPhones and Android phones.
Not everyone has it working yet though. Each mobile provider has to add support themselves. So some iPhone owners may have to wait longer before they can use RCS messaging too. But it’s a good first step for Apple to improve their users’ texting experience.
